Lost in Time
by lokindclonelvr
Summary: Col. William Tavington is the infamous Dragoon officer that earned the name 'The Butcher' during the Revolutionary War. He died in The Battle of Cowpens... Or did he? Elizabeth Bradford is a scientist that lives in present day America. Her life, as well as what she believes is impossible, is changed forever when the colonel and others fall into her lap.
1. The End is a New Beginning

Sadly, I do not own the Patriot, or Colonel Tavington. I just enjoy putting my favorite characters in weird situations. I hope you enjoy reading this, it is my first fanfiction. I used to have this story on Wattpad but I've had a few problems with the website. I'm planning some revisions for this story anyway.

Today had been a bad day for Colonel William Tavington.

He charged into battle as fierce as ever, killing many of those pesky rebels. He engaged in a fight with that damned farmer, Benjamin Martin, the object of his misery and rage. Martin ran to him, holding his hideous American flag like a spear, and killed his horse, sending him flying to the ground.

Everything that happened after was really a blur at this point. The ending result, however, was clear as day. Tavington lay defeated on the ground, a gunshot wound on his arm, two rather fatal bayonet wounds on his chest and throat, and memories haunting his head.

"Kill me before the war is over, will you? It appears, that you are not the better man."

"My sons were better men than you."

He was right of course. Tavington had committed truly cruel atrocities for the sake of his glory. "The ends will justify the means, this will be forgotten."

His own words mocked him. Now that he failed, now that everything that he's worked for has gone to waste, who would ever remember him as anything more than 'The Butcher', a heartless monster?

He thought back to his past life, to his drunk, gambling father and the shame that was brought to their family as a result. He thought of all of the lives that he took and ruined. He felt shame in that too, in himself. Lastly, he thought of his poor late mother, and the reality that if she could see who he became, she'd be disgusted. For once, in the last moments of his life, he actually felt sadness, guilt, and remorse. Even his own men hated him. Major Bordon, Captain Wilkins. The only friend he had in his life was Banastre Tarleton, but he knew William before he became so cold. These unfamiliar emotions and thoughts were even worse to Tavingtonthan the physical pain he was feeling. He blinked his eyes tightly to make the forming tears disappear and he succumbed to darkness.

He slowly regained consciousness, confused. He didn't feel his wounds at all. He briefly ran his hand over his throat, only to find that it was perfectly intact. He did the same with his chest and arm, and discovered that the wounds were gone.

He felt a hard, flat rock under him. The air around him was warm, not the sweltering heat of hell he expected, with a constant breeze that cooled his skin. He clearly was not burning in agony, so this mustn't be hell. Could this possibly be heaven? He opened his eyes. No, no, Heaven couldn't possibly be this dark, and God would truly be merciful if he was to ever be admitted in. But if he wasn't in Heaven or Hell, than what on earth--

He sat up and took in his surroundings. He could see that it was Twilight, as the stars and moon were shining and giving him just enough light to gain his bearings. His pale blue eyes focused their attention

at the 'rock' he was sitting upon. It was black, and made of a strange material, and it stretched along the ground in a line, formed in two directions. It had yellow and white lines along the length. Odd. Tavington noticed the trees that grow on both sides next to the 'rock'. At least nature still thrives in this purgatory of sorts.

Suddenly, he was interrupted from his thoughts by a bright light that illuminated the space next to him. He quickly found the source of the light, and it terrified him. It was a large metal beast with two yellow eyes that burned like fire. They seemed to hover above the ground as the monster glided through the dark towards him.

Surely this must be the face of Satan himself, come to take him to hell. Tavington wanted to scream, wanted to run from the frightening punishment of his crimes, but he stood fast, suppressing his fright. Any attempt to escape death would be futile. And Colonel William Tavington was a prideful man who shows no fear, even in the end. He brandished his sword and charged with a bellow.

The last thing he remembered after that was him colliding with the surprisingly cold and hard monster, and the sound of a woman screaming.


	2. The Scientist

"On the boats and on the planes

They're coming to America!

Never looking back again

They're coming to America!"

Late at a Friday night, a young woman with blonde hair and stormy grey eyes sung along with the radio as she drove down the empty road. It had been a long and unproductive day at work. She had stayed in her lab until hours after the sun had gone down, studying a mysterious pulse of energy that had been observed that morning. Hours of research, and it had gotten her nowhere. She had no idea what kind of energy it was, or where it came from. And the most puzzling thing of all was that it literally seemed to appear out of nowhere! Energy can't just appear or disappear from thin air! That is one of the biggest scientific laws, and the physicist _needed_ to know how it was seemingly broken.The only reason she left her lab at all was because her boss had to practically drag her out.

 _"Now, Elizabeth, your work ethic is admirable, but you have already reached the maximum hours a week that you are legally allowed to work. Go home and get some rest before you collapse from sleep deprivation. You may return on Monday."_

She shook her head as she turned the radio off. Her boss really did mean well, but he seems to believe she enjoys her job a little too much sometimes. He did get part of that right. After all, it's hard not to enjoy oneself working with lasers, chemicals, and other assorted mad science equipment. Dr. Elizabeth Bradford was a researcher at a University in Oklahoma. She specialises in physics, mostly using practical experiments to test theories. Elizabeth does contribute her own thoughts and calculations to her work, but much of her time is spent collaborating with her friend and co-worker Amelia Smith, a brilliant but peculiar theoretical physicist. The energy that Elizabeth has been studying was brought to her attention by Amy, in fact. She called Elizabeth up that morning, hysterical with excitement. She was rambling on over the phone about how it could be from anything, an alternate universe, aliens, or a temporal anomaly... anything straight out of a sci-fi, really.

Elizabeth was driven out of her peaceful reflections by a bright red and green figure that suddenly materialized from the dark and ran in front of her car. She shrieked and slammed on the brakes as the figure, which turned out to be a person, collided with the windshield before sliding off the hood and falling onto the paved road. She could only sit and stare at a bit of space in front of her for a few moments, then she flew out of the car, grabbing her keys along the way. Once she reached the unconscious man she knelt in front of him, and put two fingers to his wrist.

"Please don't be dead, please don't be dead, please don't be..." She sighed in relief when she felt a pulse. She used this opportunity to take in his appearance. He was a very attractive man, with a medium build and a handsome face. His long, dark brown hair was tied back with a black cloth. But what really grabbed her attention was his strange clothing. He was wearing what appeared to be an authentic red and green Revolutionary War era uniform, complete with gold buckles and buttons. Lying next to him was a curved sword. Weird. There's not a lot of reenactors of that time period in Oklahoma, seeing as it isn't an original colony. Maybe he was an actor... Or a cosplayer... Or something.

She shook her head as she started to check for injuries. She just barely touched him, however, when a hand shot up and grabbed her wrist. She let out a yelp as she glanced up at the eyes of the hand's owner. A pair of eyes gazed back at her -- fierce, piercing pale grey eyes that took on an ice blue in the moonlight...


	3. First Impressions

**I st** **ill don't own the Patriot. If I did, it would be more historically accurate, Mel Gibson wouldn't play the main character, Tavington wouldn't be portrayed as a cold, bloodthirsty monster, and Banastre Tarleton wouldn't be rolling around in his grave because of how people are still contributing to the Ban smear campain.**

"Who are you?" The man growled with a distinct British accent. Elizabeth broke free from his grasp, and stood up quickly. She nervously fiddled with her glasses for a moment before dropping her hand.

"I'm-- m-m-my name is Elizabeth B-Bradford!" She stammered out.

"Are you a loyalist or a patriot?" He demanded, as he stood up and took a few steps towards her. She backed up until she felt the cold metal of her car pressing behind her. There was a moment of silence as Elizabeth stared at him, bewildered.

"What?" She simply asked, at a loss for words. Her confusion turned into panic when he brandished his saber and held the tip of it at her chest.

"Don't think beneath me to harm a woman, wench," he hissed, "answer me!"

Elizabeth was terrified. Clearly the man was either high, or insane. Adrenaline pumped within her as her body considered whether to fight or flee. Bit just one glance at his body made her realize it was no use. She was physically weak and unfit, a great contrast to the wall of muscle she was confronted with. And when the man easily outran or overpowered her, it would only make things worse. So she held her hands up in surrender as her face contorted into a wince.

"What are you talking about? The Revolutionary War was centuries ago!"

The man faltered for only a moment before his lips curled into a sneer. To Elizabeth, he was like a wolf just about to destroy and devour his prey. Powerful. Ferocious. Terrifying.

"You have quite the audacity to lie to me, disrespectful trollop. Have you any idea who I am?"

The woman tensed up and closed in on herself, as if she could disappear by trying to take up as little space as possible. "No, no-no-no... Who are you, e-e-exactly?" She asked in a weak, wavering voice as she shook her head and trembled uncontrollably.

"I am Colonel William Tavington of the British legion!"

The young scientist's eyes scrunched up and her mouth gaped open in an animated expression that Tavington couldn't read. She was at a loss for words, so it seemed he inspired fear in her at least.

"Who!?" She squeaked, struggling to say even that. After a few gulps of breath, she spoke again.

"I do--don't know what your problem is, dude--" Tavington raised an eyebrow at this new word as the girl paused her erratic, stuttered english. "--b-but I really don't want to die, so-o c-could you please -- chill out and put down your sword?"

'What sort of madness--?'

Tavington's quickly turned irritated as he looked down at the paralysed girl. She must be daft, mad, or truly ignorant of the war going on around her. The latter was dubious at best, but it was clear that he wasn't going to get anything he needed to know out of her with his temper. He took a deep breath, put away his saber, and stepped away from her a little bit. He watched her eyeing him cautiously as her features relaxed ever so slightly. Then, with an eerie, unstable calm, he spoke.

"My name is William Tavington," he spoke slowly, enunciating each syllable. "I am stranded in this strange setting, without my horse and without my men, in the middle of a war. Perhaps you may not understand or give a care for the gravity of the situation I am in, however... I implore you to tell me what I need to know or point me in the direction of someone who can."

He raised his eyebrows at the woman, who had stopped trembling by now. He folded his hands behind his back and took in her appearance. She had shoulder length hair that was the color of honey, full, pink lips, analysing grey eyes that were obscured by strange black and blue spectacles. Her feminine features was not what he cared for at the moment, however. It was the way she was dressed. Her short, plump figure was indecently exposed by a plain blue shirt with an odd red and white circle design with a white star in the middle of it, and skintight black trousers made of a material he has never seen before. He scoffed and narrowed his eyes.

"Okay, um, that--that seems reasonable." She spoke, stumbling over her words again. Tavington wondered if the odd woman always stuttered. "What do you want to know?"

"First if all, I need to know if you are with us or with the rebels."

"Rebels?" The woman stared at him in confusion and he glared back in annoyance.

"Is that your answer?"

"Wha--no! If your talking about the American rebels from the Revolutionary War-- which I assume you are because of your old uniform--" Tavington looked downed at his wool coat before sneering back up at her. "--then you must think we're still in the past man. What year do you think it is?" He replied in a low, bemused voice.

"January 17, 1781."

"...Oh."


	4. Realization

Hello! You know the drill, I don't own the rights to the film, I don't make money off of this. Please enjoy, and tell me what you think!

To say that Elizabeth was perplexed would be an understatement. Her first thought was that he was crazy, but she didn't dare say it out loud. He looked fine, and he didn't act lke he had a concussion. She needed to think this through if she wanted to survive. So, of course, she only stared up at him like a dummy.

"I'm sorry, 1781?" The Colonel practically bore holes into her eyes and she shuddered.

"I believe that is what I said, quite clearly in fact. Now, where the hell am I?" He demanded, quite irritated.

"Uh... Stillwater, Oklahoma?" She answered in a tone that sounded more like she was asking a question.

Tavington twiched and pursed his lips into a thin line, seemingly in irritation. But Elizabeth saw a glint of uncertainty pass through his face before it hardened. Then, the Colonel sighed in exasperation and turned away from her.

Elizabeth calmed down even more now and could think properly again. It was highly unlikely at best that he really was from the past, however...

She watched him silently wander towards the forest, up and down the street. She watched him look around at the asphalt, the car, the buildings in the distance. His demeanor was calm and stoic, yet he still looked lost.

Elizabeth thought about his costume, his mannerisms and speech. She thought about his behavior earlier. Time travel or no time travel, this guy is clearly out of place here. Then she had an epithany. A man from the past...and the energy wave from earlier...

He stopped at a spot on the ground about ten feet away from her and stared up at the sky. She looked up as well. The night was partially clear, but ominous dark clouds obstructed most of the stars. The young scientist knew that it was going to rain shortly.

"Sir?" Tavington quickly snapped his head to face her. She faltered. That man makes her more nervous than when she has to speak in public.

"Uh... I don't really know how this is possible, and there's no easy way to say this but..." She rubbed the back of her neck with one hand. He only raised an eyebrow, but let her continue. She gathered up her nerve and spoke in a firm, grim tone.

"You are not in 1781. This is the 21st century. October 1st, 2016."

A thick silence hung in the air for a few moments while Elizabeth's words sunk in. Tavington gaped at her in shock.

"That--that is impossible. You truly are a madwoman!" The girl shook her head and her blonde hair fell around her face before she quickly pushed it back.

"No really! I can prove it." She pulled out her phone and heard him gasp when the screen lit up her face. He slowly edged closer to it, regarding it as if it was dark magic. She pulled up her calander app and showed him the date. He sighed in disbelief and his shoulders sagged. He remained silent, and his eyes were wide as saucers. Then he regained his composure and put on an emotionless mask.

Even though he was scary and tempermental, Elizabeth really felt for him just then. The Colonel certainly didn't show as much vulnerabiliy as the average person would, but beneath his hardened features he must be at least a little scared. Elizabeth certainly would be if she was sent centuries into the future. Nowhere to go, no family or friends, perhaps having his entire way of life destroyed. If he was going to survive, he needed some help.

'I'm probably going to regret this.'

"Listen uh... I know that you don't have anywhere to go. So until we figure out how to get you back, you can stay with me."

Tavington snobbishly stared down his nose at her.

"Thank you ever so much, but I believe I will be just as well off on my own." He responded in a deadpan tone.

Elizabeth sighed. She did have half a mind to just just leave him here. But she kind of felt she had to help him. After all, she did just run him over.

"I insist. A storm's coming and unless you plan to break into a building somewhere you're gonna get caught right in it. And we get tornadoes here as well." She made a beckoning motion with her fingers and headed toward the passenger side of her car. Tavington reluctantly followed her, but approached the vehicle cautiously.

"What is this monstrosity?"

"It's a car. It's like a horseless carriage. I promise it won't hurt you." She opened the door. "Just come on in. We'll get to my place soon." Tavington grumbled as he crammed his body into the cramped space and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He tensed with a scowl when she shut the door. He gave her a lingering sidelong glance as she went around to the driver's side and clambered into the car seat. When she started the engine, she could see Tavington shift uncomfortably in the leather seating and cling to the surfaces around him. She put on her seatbelt, and made sure he did the same.

"Here we go." She said as she started the drive. Ten minutes in a car alone with a grumpy colonel from the seventeen hundreds. What could possibly go wrong?


	5. Home Sweet Home?

The drive was relatively silent and awkward. William spent the first half of the journey trying not to throw up, and trying not to let the woman sitting next to him know that he was getting carsick.

 _'This machine certainly moves faster and more smoothly than any mount I've ever ridden, but the sooner I leave it the better!'_

By the time they were halfway to the woman's homestead, however, his motion sickness had finally subsided. He sighed in relief. He was still in quite a sour mood though, and whenever the girl tried to make eye contact with him or say anything of no consequence, he only scowled and turned his head away to look out of the window. There was some vegetation along the road, but also buldings and sructures that are very alien to him.

"Are you doing okay over there?" The woman asks, concerned.

"I am fine Madame," he replied, sounding a little more forced than he would have liked. "This experience is just... different."

She nodded. "I understand. I'm sure you have many questions. I don't know how you ended up here, so I can't answer that. But I can tell you about this age."

Tavington paused in consideration, then clung to his seat when they drove over a series of potholes. "Do all people use these beastly machines now?"

"Many of us do. Cars are faster than horses and less expensive most of the time. But we still have some horses out here."

"Ah. And where, if I may ask, is here?"

"Oklahoma, although that name means nothing to you. It was established as a state in 1907. It's part of the more recent expansions of America." Elizabeth glanced cautiously at him. She kind of already gathered he would not be happy with this news.

"America? Do you mean to tell me that we...we..." Tavington struggled to finish the question, already dreading the answer. He watched her with a hopeful expression. Elizabeth sighed and kept her eyes on on the road.

"Britain lost." She replied in a quiet, even voice. Tavington was quite devastated. His loyalty and contribution to the war had been for nothing after all.

"Those Bloody, simple farmers against his Majesty's army... How?" Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't think it really matters now. What's done is done. But I truly am sorry." She awkwardly put one hand on his shoulder, as a gesture of comfort. Tavington only stared at it for a moment, and then looked at her in his normal cold manner. He did not appreciate being touched by strangers, not even young and pretty ones.

"Uh...s-s-sorry." She instantly removed her hand. There was silence for another few minutes.

"Your attire is quite bizzare for a lady." Tavington commented, gesturing at the jeans and T-shirt Elizabeth was wearing.

"Oh this... This is what everyone wears now. Well...mostly everyone."

"I see," he replied in a tight voice. "So it is acceptable for women to wear breeches?"

"Yes... Among other things." She added, sort of reluctantly mumbled really.

He wanted to ask what she meant but then he decided that he really didn't want to know. These new changes didn't sit well with him.

 _'Good God, what has the world come to? This must be my personal form of punishment, as it seems hell wasn't horrid enough for me!'_

"Anyway, we're almost at my apartment." He heard the woman say. Thank God. In a few moments he could get out of this metal contraption. The woman pulled up to a large building that had many floors and windows. She stopped the horseless carriage in a spot adjacent to other similar machines, and let herself out. Tavington tried to exit the machine as well, only to find that he was unable. He stated fighting with the bloody door, cursing and shouting, until the woman opened it for him. His mood worsened as he scrambled out of the car, hitting his head on the roof. He straightened his uniform in a poor attempt to regain his composure, glaring daggers at the tittering woman. He was The Butcher, dammit, and he was to be taken seriously even when he made a complete fool of himself! She appeared to deflate when he glared at her and he was satisfied.

Seven minutes and four flights of stairs later, the pair finally entered Elizabeth's apartment.

"Right, uh, well, this is where I live." She said, making a sweeping motion towards the space in front of them, as she flipped the switch for the light. Tavington examined the living room cautiously. It was decorated in an orderly yet vibrant manner, with several chairs and a three cushion couch. There were bookshelves all across the walls, with strange decorations and many books that he had never heard of all along them. There were also peculiar contraptions in that room and the room directly connected to it. He took notice of the electric light fixture on the ceiling and simply stared at it, perplexed.

"It will suffice. Where will I be sleeping?"

"In my spare bedroom. I don't really have guests, so it's all neat and prepared for someone to use it."

Tavington looked around even more at her apartment and frowned. There can't be much room for more than three people.

"Is your husband or father home?" He asked.

"I don't have a husband, and my father doesn't live here." She answered in a pointed voice. The Colonel widened his eyes and snapped his head towards her.

"Do you mean to tell me that you live with none to protect you?" He exclaimed.

Elizabeth wanted to retort with a sarcastic comment, but she thought against it.

"It's very common for people to live by themselves, female or not. I'll lead you to your room."

The fact that this young unmarried woman lived by herself and was willing to let Tavington live with her did not sit well with him, but he kept quiet about it. Only because he had no other options and could hear rain pouring in hard now. He simply nodded as she led him down the hall to a bedroom. She flicked on another strange switch that made a very bright light immediately turn on, almost like magic. He was too tired and discouraged to ask about it though. He looked around the room. It was almost barren of furniture and decoration. The only things in the room consisted of a desk, a chair, an empty closet, and a rather plain bed with a pillow and a few covers on it.

 _'At least there's no clutter lying about. And the bed looks comfortable.'_

"Well, I'll leave you alone then. If you need anything, my room is just across the hall. Good night." She said, just before she let herself out and shut the door behind her.

 _'What a peculiar woman.'_

After letting his hair down and taking off everthing but his breeches and shirt, he climbed into the bed. He didn't turn off the light, because he didn't yet know what to make of the...magic? Technology? He didn't care at the moment. He piled blankets on top of him and fussed with the pillow, punching it a few times. Then he immediately fell asleep.


	6. The Morning After

**Do I still need the disclaimer? I'll say I don't own The Patriot anyway, only because I don't want to get sued. I do own several Van Halen CDs, though!**

"Well, I'll leave you alone then. If you need anything, my room is just across the hall. Goodnight."

Elizabeth went to her bedroom, shutting the door. After a moment of consideration, she locked it too. She sat on her bed and thought about her new guest.

 _'I hope he'll be a little more pleasant after he gets used to this time period. He's so imtimidating! And his eyes could probably bore a hole in my skin when he glares at me. I'd much rather have those eyes to look into mine as he--"_

Whoa, wait a minute! Where the hell did that come from? She shook her head and gave a low drawn out groan, trying to clear her mind. Indulging in fantasies about a complete stranger is just going to end badly. She started to think about some actual concerns. Like how to introduce him to technology without making him faint or accuse her of witchcraft.

 _'He seems to be taking things well enough so far. He didn't try to burn me at the stake when I showed him my cell phone or drove him home. I'll have to show him the stuff around the house, for now. Starting tomorrow. "_

But Elizabeth also had to admit that she was excited. Aside from her mixed feelings (including the brief hint of carnal desire that alarmed her quite a lot,) she was fascinated by Tavington at an intellectual level. After all, it's not everyday she gets to meet someone that lived two centuries ago and is still alive and well. If all goes well, pehaps she can somehow send him back home and make a scientific breakthrough in the process. With a satisfied smile, she changed into an old t-shirt and a pair of shorts and climbed into bed.

Elizabeth woke up at about 7:00 the next morning to the sound of rock music and a man shouting. She rushed to the living room and saw her guest crouching in a corner, covering his ears, and wincing. Her stereo was on, blaring Eddie Van Halen at full volume. She rushed to the stereo, paused the music, and turned to the man.

The poor guy was shaking on the floor. His long brown hair fell to his shoulders, his white puffy shirt giving her a peek at his manly chest. He was still covering his ears, his handsome face was still contorted, and his eyes were shut. She tapped him on one muscular shoulder and they snapped open. He slowly lowered his arms and stood up. Now that he noticed he wasn't alone anymore, he tried to regain his composure.

"I see you found the stereo."

The Colonel apparently noticed the shorts she was wearing. He blushed a little and averted his eyes. Elizabeth had to bite back a smirk.

"Indeed."

Still not looking at her, he held up the stereo's remote control. "I simply wanted to see what this box does. I pressed several buttons, and what sounded of the Devil's ravings came spouting out of nowhere!"

"Uh-huh. Well, that device you're holding is a remote control. It controls this machine," She pressed 'play' on the stereo. The song continued, causing Tavington to wince again, then she paused it again. "which plays music."

"You call that music!?" He exclaimed, looking back at her. He blushed again and suddenly became very interested in a bit of wall a little ways behind her. He stood at military attention to try and hide his discomfort. It didn't work.

"That, Madame, is not music, and what you are wearing should barely count as clothing!" He hissed.

"Music, as well as fashion, has evolved quite a bit over time. This music is actually a little older. If you think Van Halen is bad, you should hear the crap that's popular nowadays. As for what I'm wearing, you'll just have to get used to it. I've seen women show even more skin than this out in public."

The Colonel's eyes widened and he looked into her eyes, completely shocked. His mouth gaped open.

"You people are so shameless?"

"Haven't you ever seen a woman's body before?"

Tavington scoffed and glared at her. "Of course I have! But you mean to tell me that ladies walk around practically naked?"

"Well, yeah!" Elizabeth withered a bit under his gaze, and crossed her arms self-consciously. She lowered her voice. "A lot of things have changed now. It may be difficult to come to terms with some of them, but I promise I'm going to help you as much as I can. Now, I'm gonna get dressed, and then we'll try to introduce you a bit more to the 21st century. Okay?"

He sighed. "I suppose."

Elizabeth disappeared into her room to dress, closing the door behind her. She changed into a

green and purple graphic top, black capris, grey sneakers, and knee high galaxy print socks. Then she put her shoulder length hair into a ponytail after quickly brushing it. She came back to the living room to find Tavington sitting stiffly on the couch. He was dressed impeccably in his uniform, his hair was tied back in a queue. He looked very tense, and he glanced all around him in an almost paranoid manner.

"So...are you hungry?"

"I suppose, Madame." He sighed.

"Well, come on then." She led him to the kitchen and had him sit down at the counter. She talked as she started to gather pots and ingredients. "Oh, and please call me Elizabeth. 'Madame' is a little outdated now."

"Very well, Elizabeth." She had to keep from shivering as her name rolled off his tongue. "I suppose you may call me by my first name as well, seeing as my title has no meaning here." He continued in a bitter and cynical tone. "Do you have anything to drink? Anything... Strong?"

"I don't have any alcoholic stuff. I do have water, milk, orange juice--"

"Water will be acceptable, thank you."

Elizabeth got a glass and filled it up in the sink. She glanced over her shoulder to see William staring at the faucet in awe. After she put the glass on the counter William picked it up. He simply inspected it for a minute, before taking a sip. Elizabeth began to cook bacon, eggs, and pancakes as she talked.

"Today and tomorrow we'll have time to introduce you to some things you need to know about. Technology, history, stuff like that. On Monday though, I have to work." She heard William almost choke on his water. She turned to see his dumfounded expression.

"I...I beg your pardon?" He sputtered in between coughs.

"Yeah, women work now." His mouth gaped in shock. "I know what you're thinking, we're not doxies!" He closed his mouth, but still looked like he was about to protest. "You see we, uh, women in this time are a lot more capable than we've been in the past. We're stronger, more independent, and we're seen more as equals than we ever have been." William simply stared at her silently for a minute.

"Ah. I see. Working women..." He scoffed. "I suppose that women are 'capable' of going into battle as well." He chuckled.

"Yes, actually." She replied in a deadpan voice and he looked dumbfounded once again. He sat at the counter in silence, seeming to contemplate this new change.

'Well, that's enough culture shock for now. Better leave him alone for a bit."

Six minutes of silence later the food was ready and Elizabeth set plates out on each of their spots on the counter.

"Thank you." He said in a quiet voice. Halfway through the meal he became curious and spoke up again. "Tell me about your...work. What do you do?"

"I'm a scientist. I specialise in experimental astrophysics, and I test the validity of theories by coming up with hypothesies and planned experimental procedures." Tavington slowly nodded, although it was clear he didn't understand much of what she just said.

"So... research then?"

"Yes!" She exclaimed. William smirked a bit to himself and returned to his food.

"Quite an ah... interesting job for the female mind. Is it quite difficult for you?" Elizabeth narrowed her eyes.

"Changing the way we think about the universe is sometimes difficult for all scientists actually, but I can hold my own." William raised an eyebrow.

"Have I offended, madame?" He asked. There was a sort of teasing...playful quality about his voice now. Elizabeth gave him a little smile, glad to see the slight change in his demeanor.

"Not at all."

 **This chapter was actually really fun to write. Oh, and William getting scared by loud Van Halen music was a reference to a movie. The first person that guesses right gets to bring Tavington home with them for the night!**


	7. Tav, Tech and Time Travel

**Hello people! I still don't own The Patriot, I don't make money off of this. I just take pleasure in knowing you've stuck around the story long enough to read this!** **And yes, to all the people who guessed Back to the Future, you are correct! Enjoy your** **Tavingtons!** **(I'm also thanking you for the reviews, they are really nice!)**

After breakfast, Elizabeth showed William most of the technology and appliances in her house. All morning, they went over the stove, microwave, dishwasher, oven, radio, telephone, shower, toilet and the computer. The session with the computer alone took almost an hour, and induced enough rage from William that he could take on the Incredible Hulk. Elizabeth calmed him down enough to stop throwing things at the 'belligerent metal beast' and led him back to the living room. She wandered into the kitchen to get things to cook, as it was almost lunchtime.

"And what is this?" William called. Elizabeth peeked her head in the doorway to find the man staring at the TV curiously.

"Oh, that's the television. It's for entertainment." She pressed the on button, and the screen lit up as she heard a familiar cartoon. Dora the Explorer. She turned towards Will to see his reaction. His face was lit up with childlike wonder, at first. Then the wonder became annoyance, and his face contorted in a grimace.

"Yeah, she is a little annoying, isn't she?" Elizabeth handed him the remote, then quickly explained how to use it. He didn't bother changing the channel, though. He just sat down with a sigh, and that same annoyed grimace. Elizabeth went back into the kitchen, shaking her head. She could hear the Colonel getting more and more frustrated.

"The Fox is directly behind you! Are you blind or stupid, girl? You are letting it get closer!"

William continued to rant at Dora for a while, even though she explained that nothing on the screen can hear him. Elizabeth tried so hard to keep her laughter in. Still, she was afraid that he'd break something. He's already tried to destroy her laptop, after all. She went back to the living room for a second and snatched the remote from the coffee table.

"To be honest, I really hate this show too. Just listening to her gets on my nerves, so I'm changing the channel." He watched press the channel button and the device made the two dimensional world disappear. The images were replaced every time she pressed the button. At one point it showed a scene of a couple in the throes of passion. She heard him gasp.

"Ugh, no!" Elizabeth jabbed the remote towards the screen with a florish. She finally stopped at a channel called PBS. Willaim had no idea what that meant, but it appeared to be for educational purposes. Elizabeth put down the remote and went back to the kitchen. While Elizabeth was cooking lunch, Tavington silently watched a documentary about a fellow by the name of Jimi Hendrix.

' _What bizzare music. I suppose it matches the bizzare time that is descibed in the picture box_ _. How has the world first come to this sort of chaos?'_

At about 7:00 that evening, Elizabeth came back to the apartment with clothes and other stuff for William.

"I'm home!" She called. There was no answer.

' _Crap.'_

She put all the bags down and began to frantically search the space, hoping he didn't run off. She wasn't really thinking when she opened the bathroom door however--

"What are you doing!"

"Sorry--sorry!" Mortified, she closed it as quickly as she had opened it and stepped away. She stared ahead at one of the nebula paintings she had collected and hung on the wall and tried to calm down. He was done showering, but he was shaving using one of her unused razors. And he was wearing a towel. Only a towel.

"Did you at least like what you saw, Madame?" He teased her in his sarcastic, wry manner.

' _You asshole. You asshole with the perfect body.'_

"Yes. I mean no! I mean, uh--" She became even more flustered, if that was even possible. "I...I brought you some clothes." He opened the door just a crack and reached one arm out. She gathered up a set and handed it to him. He retracted the arm and shut the door again.

"You have selected my undergarments?" Distain and embarassment was present in that question.

"Yeah. It's really not a big deal now."

"Very well." Elizabeth could hear fabric rustling and William grumbling through the door. Then, he stepped out, dressed in a dark blue button down and black jeans. He held both arms up and gave her an expectant look. Probably expecting approval. The clothes flattered his muscular frame, especially now as it clung to his wet skin. Elizabeth shyly looked back down with a bashful grin.

"You look great. Did you enjoy yourself in there?"

"Actually yes. I've heard of ancient indoor plumbing, but I've never seen anything quite like this. It's much more efficient than filling an entire tub with water!"

"I'm glad you like it! It's my turn now. Feel free to read or watch tv or whatever." William checked out the bookshelf while her host was in the bathroom.

"The Time Machine?" He picked that book from the shelf. H.G. Wells. He read the description in the back and pursed his lips. A fictional novel about time travel. Most unhelpful. With a sigh he put the book back, then he brooded on the couch. His good mood was gone now. How could he and Elizabeth find a way to take him back to the past if all information about it only existed in fiction? He turned on the tv, just because the remote was there.

" _We all have questions. Big questions."_ A tinny, monotonic voice started as a thin man sprawled out in a strange wheelchair appeared on the screen. Tavingon raised a brow.

"What the bloody hell--?"

The voice continued, although it appeared to belong to the crippled man, he didn't move his lips.

" _My name is Stephen Hawking. And I believe that anyone can answer big questions for themselves. So with the help of ordinary people and a team of experts, we are going on the ultimate voyage. A quest to answer the greatest questions of the universe using the power of the human mind. Because anyone can think like a genius."_

Tavington watched as the image turned into a plain background that read: 'Genius by Stephen Hawking: Can we Time Travel?' Although he had doupts that a disabled man could be considered a 'genius,' he might as well listen to the show since it is relevant. He sat down. Pretty soon he was drawn in to the point where he paid attention to nothing else.

For the rest of the evening, William tirelessly did more research for himself. He still hated the computer and the internet, but he was pleased to find that Elizabeth kept a rather large collection of Professor Hawking's books. Occasionally he would ask his companion questions.

"And how could I have experienced enough gravitational force for time to speed up all around me? According to the mechanical man, the effects of 'relative time' are most clear around those black stars!"

"There could be a lot of possibilities for how you got here applying Hawking's theories." Tavington heard her voice from the other side of her bedoom door. "He did explain that people on earth can experience time travel based on their location relative to other people's. They get closer to Earth's mass, gravity is stronger and stretches time out. Normally the effects are miniscule, so there must be some other factor..."

Elizabeth opened the door, wearing bedclothes. "I'll look into it more later. Right now though, I'm going to get some sleep." William nodded, a little disappointed.

"Yes of course. Good night." She smiled at him.

"I do have just one more question, then I will leave you be." Elizabeth nodded than looked at him expectantly.

"The man that wrote those books... He couldn't move or talk. What's wrong with him?"

"Oh. It's a condition he has. Over his life he gradually loses control of his body. He uses a machine hooked up to his wheelchair to talk and write."

"I see." William chuckled. "I've quite misjudged him at first. Clearly appearances don't mean as much now as they used to."

"Sometimes appearance has nothing to do with how well someone does in life, William." Elizabeth stated in a serious, even voice. "Although people here can still only care about the surface, the way you look, who your family was anything that cannot be helped doesn't matter as long as you have the motivation to change what people expect from you." She closed the door, leaving William alone in a pensive state of mind.

 _'Perhaps I could...but how?'_

 _H_ e looked down at the floor regretfully, and he made his way to his own room.


	8. Greencoat in the Streets

**Sunday, 11:00 a.m.**

Tavington sat in the passenger seat of the car, clutching his shoulder and glaring daggers at the girl driving in the adjacent seat.

"Tell me, is it customary in this time to stick metal rods into the flesh of unsuspecting people?"

"Look, I'm sorry Will. We had to have you vaccinated so that you don't get sick!" The Colonel scoffed.

"I have bested death itself, woman. A mere fever will not be enough to defeat me." Elizabeth said nothing, she only stared ahead at the road.

'A fever would be far more tolerable than the ache in my blasted shoulder!' He thought bitterly. 'Damn this age!'

Elizabeth interrupted his thoughts. "So anyway, I talked to my friend Amelia -- she's a physicist too -- and I told her about the whole time travel situation. Tomorrow I'm going to take you with me to her lab, and see if there's any way we can return you to 1781."

He nodded his head as he glanced at her curiously. "Do you believe that it is possible?"

She shrugged. "There could be a way that we don't know about yet." She said with an air of optimism, then sobered as she continued. "But, uh... If it turns out we can't... Well... We'll need a plan on what you're going to do after."

Tavington said nothing. He sat there, ruminating on her words. Part of him wanted to go back to the war, the familiarity, to when there was sense in the world. But he had to admit that there was nothing for him there. He had no family, no friends, and his promise of land was squandered right in his defeat at Cowpens. He also had a more curious side that wanted him to stay in the present. He was quite intrigued by how much the world has progressed. He realizes, though, that he doesn't really belong in the 21st century either. What is he to do? He sat considering this for a long while.

'It seems that I shall be quite isolated wherever I go.' He glanced back over at the girl, who was concentrating on driving and completely oblivious to his staring. His face, severe only a moment ago, softened when he admired her features. He trained his eyes to the road. 'If I am to continue this exile that God has assigned me, then I shall make the best of it simply to spite him.' Tavington's smirk appeared.

The pair rode in silence for a few more minutes until a human figure materialized right in front of the car. A figure that was very familiar to the Colonel, with a green coat, and a shock of auburn hair under a fur-trimmed riding helmet... Elizabeth slammed on her brakes, but the figure still collided with the front pane of glass and was promptly knocked to the ground with a loud thud.

"Not again!" Tavington heard Elizabeth moan in distress. The pair rushed out of the car and scrambled to the fallen man on the pavement.

Elizabeth kneeled at his side, checked his pulse. "He's still alive. He seems to be wearing a dragoon uniform too. Do you know this man William?"

Tavington took a closer look at the man's face, removing his helmet. He inspected the thin youthful face, the full, parted lips, and the strong bow. He recognized him immediately.

"I do know this man. He commanded the other Calvary infantry of the British legion. He is also a close friend of mine."

Elizabeth gasped. "Crap, what happened to him?"

William looked at the bandages and sling on his right arm. This confused him, as he didn't have any injuries the last time they saw each other.

"I do not know."

Perhaps he was injured in Cowpens as well, and taken here. The stunned man started to groan and move his head. His eyelids fluttered open, revealing two chocolate brown eyes that squinted in confusion. As he sat up the first thing he seemed to notice was the woman kneeling next to him, his full pink lips spread into a charming grin, a small gap in between his two front teeth was visible. The confusion did not leave his face, but he politely bowed his head and introduced himself.

"Good day Madame. I am Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, of course you've probably heard of me." He took Elizabeth's hand with his left and kissed her knuckles. William saw her perplexed face flush crimson. The battered officer continued to regard her, oblivious to everything around him.

"Would you be so kind as to tell me who you are and... how I came to earn the pleasure of your company?" Tavington rolled his eyes. His friend always had been quite the flirt. He has probably ended up in the bed of every single loyalist woman in the Colonies during the war. William witnessed his newer companion still blushing and struggling to form a coherent sentence. She has appeared to be a very nervous mannered woman indeed. As amusing as the scene might have been under normal circumstances, here it was ridiculous. He cleared his throat. Banastre finally tore his eyes away from her.

"Will! I thought you were dead, you went missing for months after Cowpens. Where have you been?" He demanded.

"The same place, well, time, as you. The year two thousand and sixteen." Tarleton slowly got up, as quickly as he could with one good arm.

"Two thousand and sixteen? That can't be right." The other two stood up with him, and Elizabeth spoke.

"No, it is true," Elizabeth said in a meek, barely audible voice. Tarleton's gaze met hers and she blinked, training her eyes to the paved road below them. "Two nights ago, William appeared in this time. After I found out he came from the past I took him in. I also kind of felt guilty since I... hit him with my car." She said that last part with regret, fiddling with her glasses. Ban stared after her, aghast.

"No. I refuse to believe this. It is impossible!"

"I know that it's a weird and difficult situation, for...all of us. I thought it was impossible too, but now I'm talking to people from a history textbook!" She put a hand on his shoulder as a gesture of comfort. "We'll figure it out."

Elizabeth and William dragged the poor greencoat into the car and took their own seats. Elizabeth's phone loudly rang the Jack Sparrow theme, startling the newcomer in the backseat. She took the phone out and held it up to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Will, why is she talking to--"

"THERE ARE MEN IN THE CLOSET!" The little box screamed. Banastre gasped, William blinked, and Elizabeth flinched and almost dropped the device.

"Okay... Amy, calm down. Tell me what happened, but please don't yell in my ear."

Tarleton could still hear the voice, Amy as the peculiar blonde called her, but not enough to make out what she was saying. Normally he'd have some sort of witty remark or joke, but he found himself too shocked to do anything but gawk.

"Okay, yeah that's--they are wearing wierd uniforms too? Are they still at your place? Alright, I'm on my way." She put away the phone. Banastre recovered from his initial shock.

"Well, a most interesting place we have here, I-- aaahh!" He was cut off when the car suddenly jerked forward and sped down the road like a bullet, towards a row of tall buildings...


	9. Redcoats in the Sheets

If you knew Doctor Amelia Smith, you could say that nothing really baffled or terrifyed her. Alien Invasion? They're all around us anyway, just farther out there than she would have liked. Zombie apocalypse? She has a plan for that, just as she has a plan for basically everything. Evil robot army? It's a good thing she studied robotic engineering at MIT before she was kicked out and forced to switch to something a little less 'hands on.' Just a few examples.

But, of all scenarios she could have thought up, she's never been prepared for the day that two large, strong men appeared in her bedroom closet. She stayed in her office until Saturday night, plopped into bed, then the next morning the robot she built at school, MARS, woke her up with loud, alarmed warbles. Then she watched him head for whatever had him worked up and...there they were. Passed out in the organized pile of sheets and blankets she kept on the closet floor. Amelia stared down at them completely frozen while the clunky machine wheeled about in short erratic patterns and waved its two short appendages about, trying to get her attention with electronic chirps and high-pitched tones. Finally it bumped the edge of her bed and Amy shot off towards the phone in her living room. The little droid grumbled and placed itself only a few feet away from the doorway, facing the intruders.

At first Amy thought about calling the police, but her relationship with them was a little strained after the trouble she's gotten into with some of her experiments gone wrong. So she called Elizabeth, the only person in the world that she really trusts. Afterwards she stood across her room, her round hazel eyes never left the unconscious men. She took a closer look at their identical uniforms, red and green with gold trim, and black pants with fluffy black helmets. Amy supposed that must be how the man that Elizabeth took in was dressed. At this rate they'll both have an entire army of historical christmas elves from Narnia to take care of.

She took the time to look at both of the men individually. The larger man was propped up against a wall. He looked young, and huge, if he stood up he'd be significantly taller than the 5'10" woman. From what she could see underneath the outlandish headgear, he could be considered rather attractive. He had curly, dark brown hair, a very defined facial structure, and pink lips that were parted just a little in his sleep. The other one was much shorter than his companion, but he had a very stocky, muscular build. His hair was the color of cinnamon, his face was round with light brown freckles and softer features.

The larger man shifted, then groaned, then he opened his eyes. The panicked screech from the robot that's been keeping guard allowed him only less than a second for disorientation. The man let out an unmanly yelp, then when he saw Mars, he stood up quickly and flattened himself against the back of the closet as best he could with all the fabric and crammed there.

"Oh god! Get away from me, whatever the fuck you are!"

He still didn't see Amelia, and that's how she wanted it for now. She crept out of the room while a loud exchance of both male and electronic yelling could be heard.

The former engineer found it perplexing, yet amusing. Her glorious creation surely couldn't be regarded as scary. Unfamiliar technology yes, but only because it was all designed, built, and programmed by Amy. He could barely reach up to anyone's hip, and his crude clunky figure was anything but threatening. Well, he's currently threatening the men with a taser--where did he get that anyway?

There was a knock on the door. Amy rushed to answer it, to find Elizabeth, the dark haired man that she supposed must be William, and still another man she did not recognize. If the green uniform was any indication, he was stranded in the future too. Fascinating.

"They're still here, right?" Her friend asked urgently.

"Yes."

The trio rushed over to the hallway, Amy heard her robot screech and let out more aggressive electronic tones. He seemed to alarm the men Elizabeth brought too, as they took a few very wide steps back. Then she heard something that alarmed her--electric sparks, from a taser.

"Can you please tell your pet to just--chill out for a second before he fries someone?" Elizabeth called out. Amelia jogged towards it, and pulled her bushy dark hair away from her face.

"MARS, I want you to give me the taser and stand by for further instructions." She spoke firmly. The robot visibly deflated with a drawn out whine, handed her the weapon and slowly skulked away. Then she turned toward the men in the closet who at this point were both awake and very much alarmed. They both stared after the machine, holding pieces of broken plastic hangers like daggers. After it was gone they flicked their eyes all around the room and the various spare parts she kept lying around. Then when the pair saw the other men staring at them, they stood at military attention very quickly.

"At ease." The one with dark hair spoke.

"Sir? What the hell was that thing?"

"Watch your language, Wilkins." The man with dark hair spoke again. "There are ladies present." The man with auburn hair smiled at Amelia and gave her a little wink. She had no idea how to respond to that, so she just stared at him blankly. This clearly discouraged him, as he frowned to himself a bit before looking around with wide dark eyes. Even with his nonchalant behavior, he appeared to be just as lost as the intruders.

The large man, Wilkins, looked at her and Elizabeth and murmured an apology. Then he cautiously stepped out of his fabric-encased makeshift fortress and asked another question.

"Colonel Tavington, where are we?"

"We are currently in the home of a female scientist, gentlemen, in the year two-thousand and sixteen." The man, Tavington answered in an even, grim voice.

"Two thousand and sixteen?" Wilkins stared at him, stupified, as the burly man behind him slowly climbed off of the pile of linens in a daze.

"How?" He asked no one in particular, his deep voice was faint and weak. This was the first time he's spoken at all. "The last thing I remember I... I was dying." He looked down at his stomach and felt around an area of it. He let out a few short, gasping breaths and his sky blue eyes closed. Wilkins just crossed his arms and seemed to close in on himself as he scanned all around him in a paranoid manner.

"Bordon, I know that this is quite a shock, but I trust that you and Wilkins can keep your composure for just a little longer. There is no explanation for how this happened, or how to rectify the matter. However, it is of utmost importance that we handle ourselves correctly even in these... unusual circumstances."

Bordon opened his eyes again. "Yes Colonel." He seemed fine to Amy now, although she's never been very good at reading body language or facial expressions. Wilkins seemed to change the way he carried himself too. What Amy didn't realize was how reluctantly they forced themselves to maintain a stiff upper lip. Or how coldly they regarded the apparent Colonel.


	10. All Together Now

_"One, two, three, four_

 _Can I have a little more_

 _five, six, seven eight nine ten_

 _I love You_

 _A, B, C, D_

 _Can I bring my friend to tea?_

 _E, F, G H I J_

 _I love you_

 _Bom, Bom, Bom, Bom, Ba-dom_

 _Sail the ship_

 _Bom, Ba-dom_

 _Chop the tree_

 _Bom, Ba-Bom_

 _Skip the rope_

 _Bom, Ba-Dom_

 _Look at meeeee!_

 _All together now!"_

All of the men listened to the song that could be faintly heard from a neighbor's apartment and frowned at the nonsense lyrics. They were still wary, but Elizabeth figured they would seem a little more comfortable without hostile robots or various mad science equipment haphazardly lying around. That being said, both of the girls lead the four gentlemen to her place, which by a happy coincidence happened to be a few floors below Amy's.

Soon Elizabeth's five guests were all settled in various parts of the living room. Well, crammed really. Her apartment didn't have a whole lot of space. Tavington was behind everyone else, leaning against the doorway to the hall with crossed arms and a very displeased expression. Amy was sitting cross-legged on the floor (despite the fact that there was still one empty seat on the couch.) She had that far-off look in her eye that the blonde _knew_ meant she was in her own little world. Tarleton was sitting on a rocking chair, messing with his bandages and sling and figeting almost hyperactively. He was clearly not as okay as he wanted the others to believe. Wilkins was on the couch staring at everything around him in curiousity and wariness, like a child at his first day of school. Bordon was sitting next to him, completly tense and silent. Out of all of them, this poor dude looked pehaps the most traumatised. He had a solemn, disturbed expression plastered on his paled face, and his eyes stared down at the floor in what could be described as either fear, sadness, or both.

"Well, welcome to the 21st century!" The small blonde addressed them nervously. The men, except for William, all snapped out of it to regard her with expectant and hopeful expressions. She now had the undivided attention of three very lost and confused men. And she had no idea how to reassure them. She took a deep breath.

"You're currently in Oklahoma, in the year 2016. My name is Elizabeth Bradford. My friend, sitting on the floor for...whatever reason is Amelia Smith. She's my coworker.

"You're currently in Oklahoma, in the year 2016. My name is Elizabeth Bradford. My friend, sitting on the floor for...whatever reason is Amelia Smith. She's my coworker."

"Coworker?" Banastre looked up from his bandages and gaped at Elizabeth, then at Amelia, then back at Elizabeth. "It's odd enough that women are employed in the scientific arts but... well I simply assumed that she..."

Banastre's confusion and Elizabeth's shocked expression was enough to make this normally talkative man trail off into silence. Elizabeth already knew what he was referring to however, and from the look on Amy's face, so did she. She sat up and faced him, suddenly very serious and all traces of distraction were gone. Parts of the dark chestnut skin on her face wrinkled and she frowned at him.

"That I was a just a bit more... subservient, perhaps?" Amy's voice was cool, calm, but firm as she regarded Tarleton, and the others as well. "I am fully aware of how you all would regard someone like me in the 1700's, but now things are vastly different. Not just about race, but basically everything in society. If you are going to survive in this time-- and trust me on this-- do not assume anything!"

Tarleton coolly sat back in his chair, his face pale and blank as he peered down at the woman who had already seemed to stare off into space once more. Wilkins just looked more curious if anything else, and Bordon seemed no less disturbed than before at the prospect of facing so much change. Elizabeth nervously cleared her throat.

"Yeah, Amy's right um... And we don't know how you guys got here, or--or if it's possible for you to return...but we are going to do our best to help all of you out." She said in a very formal voice, trying to keep an even, clear tone and nearly hiding her stutter. The men already seemed to look at her like she was crazy and she gets nervous standing up and speaking in front of people as is! "First of all though, I'd-- I'd like to know your names please."

"I am Major Richard Bordon, of Tavington's cavalry unit." The stout man politely intoduced himself with a baritone, British voice that she could barely hear because of his very quiet tone. She gave him what was supposed to be a friendly smile, but came off more as forced and awkward. Bordon grimaced a bit, then the corners of his mouth twitched upward a hair.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Richard. May I call you Richard?" Bordon frowned.

"Is that really appropriate?"

"Yeah it's cool--" A wide array of befuddled faces met that phrase. "I mean... Yes, uh, It's acceptable now, if-if a l-little informal." Her stutter was more pronounced as she rushed to clarify her words. She saw William peer up at her through his eyebrows in annoyance and disapproval. She turned red and gave an apologetic look. Richard clearly noticed how nervous she was, and somehow that made him relax a bit.

"Very well, Miss. Thank you." Elizabeth beamed down at him, this time it was a natural smile. Next she regarded the man next to him.

"And who might you be?" She asked. The large man bowed his head and gave her a small, lopsided grin. He spoke with a very faint southern drawl. A loyalist, she guessed.

"I am Captain James Wilkins. What is the exact date, and where is this 'Oklahoma?'" He seemed a little more confident and stable than the others, and very inquisitive.

"The date is Sunday, October 3rd, 2016. The time is..." She checked her watch. "...11:25. And Oklahoma is in America." The men perked up at the familiar word. Except for Tavington. Clearly the newcomers still thought that America was part of Great Britain. No way she was going to be the bearer of that particular news! At least not today. Maybe tomorrow.

"Like I said, it may be possible to find a way to return you home. I can't guarantee anything because as far as I know, nothing like this has ever happened. It will take time both to develop a way to travel to the past and situate you with the new time. So for now, Amy and I are willing to share our homes with you." Amelia, at the mention of her name, snapped out of her trance and stared up at her increduously.

"We are?"

Elizabeth subtly glowered at her, though it wasn't subtle enough for the others to miss. The thin scientist warily glanced at the two strangers sitting a little ways above her and her long legs shifted uncomfortably.

"Yes...we are." She agreed in a forced voice.

"Good. Yeah, anyway--" Elizabeth looked down, pausing for a moment. "Is anyone hungry?" Her head snapped back up. The men were momentarily taken back by her sudden randomness, then she heard a few yeses murmured. She nodded and made a move for her wallet and keys chilling on a desk. She couldn't cook for all six of them. But there was a very simple solution.

"Alright, uh... I'll be back in a little bit with food and other stuff that you need. While you're waiting, you can feel free to explore or whatever. None of my books are off limits, neither is anything else in this room. If you have any questions about any technology or any of that, ask Amy or William."

So with that, she left a mad physicist, a tempermental colonel, an injured lieutenant colonel, a tense major and a curious captain alone with an entire apartment filled with strange devices all to themselves. Hopefully they'll be fine, right?

 **Man, I kinda feel bad for these guys, and I'm the reason they're even suffering! Sorry about that musical interlude earlier by the way. I may or may not have written this while watching Yellow Submarine, and that song just sort of seemed to vaugly fit.**


	11. Ambition Above Ethics

After Miss Bradford left, Banastre tried his best to follow the advisements of rest due to the very recent mutilation of his hand. It still hurts like hell. However, after a while, the pain did not deter him from the one thing that's even more intolerable to the officer--boredom. Tarleton was a very active man, and simply wasn't capable of staying still for more than twenty minutes. Maybe even less than that.

 _"Well, I fail to see any doctors here."_ Ban smirked as he stood up and left Bordon, who had finished panicking and had been silently brooding on the couch for the past fifteen minutes or so.

Now Ban could be seen looking through this strange new place that was Miss Elizabeth Bradford's home. He did not search throughly enough to snoop through the lady's things of course, he was a gentleman after all, but Tarleton could observe some rather fascinating artifacts on the walls and the shelves. Bizzare decorations about both wars and a trek in the stars. Paintings in the hall of what could only be described as saturation of both color and darkness, covered in white stars. Various trinkets related to a blue 'police' box, a curious band of people called the 'Avengers,' and a place called 'Hogwarts.'

Since he knew not what any of this was, and Miss Smith was currently busy talking to Captain Wilkins about the function of a 'DVD' (the poor fellow looks more bewildered now than when he asked!) He became bored and decided to join William at the largest shelf that was stacked with books.

"It's like a play, but you can watch it from home, or wherever you want, really!"

Banastre overheard that particular snippet of the conversation between Wilkins and the madwoman. He scoffed and snuck a brief sidelong glance at her that went unnoticed. Then he examined a book he had picked up at random.

"A young girl's diary. What a bizarre thing to keep." He quietly murmured to himself, mildly puzzled... He's started to fear that they've become aquainted with more than one madwoman in the modern age. He flipped the book to the back cover and read it. He nearly dropped it and his eyes widened in horror, as the brief summary explained the historical signifigance of Miss Frank's memoirs quite bluntly.

"Good god!"

William looked up from a copy of _I am Spock_ that he was going through and raised his eyebrows at his auburn-haired companion.

"What the bloody hell happened these past few centuries William?" The colonel only shook his head.

"Madness. Absolute madness. There's absolutely nothing familiar or sane in the modern age."

Tarleton let out a heavy sigh, then took a moment to observe Miss Smith with some interest. She was far across the room with Wilkins, seemingly in the middle of another one of her lectures. She wasn't much to look at by his standards. She was tall and lanky, and her figure was covered up with a somewhat baggy buttoned white shirt and black trousers. Trousers on a woman! The peculiar ensemble was even complete with a patterned blue bow around the collar of her shirt. Her face was pretty, but mostly covered up with her dark, bushy hair that messily stuck up in all directions. It seems that even the women are peculiar in this age, if Miss Smith and Miss Bradford are any indication. He sighed again, more dramatically this time.

"I meant to ask earlier, what happened to your arm?" Will asked, interrupting Ban's miniature pity party.

"Merely a skirmish a few months after you have dissappeared. I am all right, although I have been mourning the loss of use to my hand." He answered, as casually as one would talk about the weather.

"Not even a week after that I find myself nearly trampled to death by your lovely host's metal carriage." He added, more dramatically this time.

"Yes. The same thing happened to me as well. We're just a couple of unfortunate bastards, aren't we?"

Ban shrugged. "Not as unfortunate as you'd like to think."

Banastre could practically feel William boring two holes into his skull.

"Come now William, if we are to remain stranded here, I don't see the point in spending _all_ our time moping!" He said increduously. "As strange and disturbing this place can be, it is also prosperous, fascinating, and never have I seen such advancement in technologies! Lights that don't require fire and paved roads, smoother than cobblestone! Why, I never thought that the colonies--"

"Ban..." William quietly hissed. "This is no longer Colonial America. We lost. We fought for nothing, absolutely nothing!" He marched out and dissappeared into the room that he now slept in. Ban, for once, was truly at a loss for words. Anger and indignation bubbled up inside him. He simply stood there, stunned. He looked at Tavington's men. They were so engrossed with their individual activities they didn't seem to hear their conversation.

 _'Why did she bloody tell Tavington and not the rest of us? How did those crude farmers gather enough resources to defeat the English military? What the hell happened!?'_

He was so angry and confused that his eyes began to grow watery. He stared ahead at one row of books, blinking away the moisture. Then, a specific one caught his eye. It was a large U.S. history textbook. He took it from the shelf, and began to flip through it. The only things it said about them were of the rather unsavory 'atrocities' of Tavington 'The Butcher' and 'Bloody Ban' Tarleton. Complete exaggerations and falsehoods made up by the rebels, of course. It was like salt on a fresh wound to him.

Suddenly, an idea formed in his head and he joined his friend in his room, taking the book with him. He found Will sitting on his bed, polishing the brass buttons on his uniform. Ban sat down next to him, and politely cleared his throat. It's good to be cautious around an angry Tavington.

"Hasn't Elizabeth said that there could be a way to bring us back into the past?"

"She is trying to discover a way, but she says it may be impossible." William replied, staring at his work.

"Are you sure that she is capable of such things?" He gasped. "Is she a witch?"

"No! As unusual as it is, she works as a professional scientist. She seems intelligent enough for scientific research, especially for a member of the fairer sex." Will looked at the dumbfounded man with a tired expression. "Is there any particular reason why you've barged into my quarters?"

Banastre smirked, remembering his plan. "I was just thinking that we may not be at a total loss after all. If we are able to return, we could be able to turn the tide in our favor." He gave Tavington the textbook. "This book has every event in this country from the last two hundred years recorded in it. If we were to take it with us to 1781, we would know exactly where we went wrong, then change it. This book is essentially a guarantee that we would win the war!" He exclaimed. William begrudgingly opened it and flipped to a few pages, then looked at Tarleton with raised brows.

"And what if we cannot return, hmm? What then?"

"We must! It is the only way to bring back sense in the world! We return with knowledge from the future, we shall quash the rebellion, then I shall return to England as a hero while you make a life for yourself in Ohio."

Tavington scoffed. He was pleased, but he hid his enthusiasm well. "I do enjoy that prospect. But what about the ladies?"

"What about them? They appear harmless enough, only eccentric." Banastre asked, carelessly.

"We still need them if we want to go back. If either of them discover that we mean to meddle with time..." He let the sentence hang, his meaning already well expressed.

"Then we keep it a secret from both of them. For their own benefit. We musn't let anyone stop us." There was a dangerous glint in both blue and brown pairs of eyes. There was peace for a good fifteen minutes, then Banastre, being typical Banastre, broke the silence.

"But suppose we are to remain here. Do you suppose that me and Beth--"

"Absolutely not."

"Why, do you have eyes for her as well?"

William shook his head, trying to look nonchalant. "She is very considerate and useful. However, she is also extremely awkward and aloof. Those traits are not desirable to me, although they make it rather enjoyable to tease her. Although she tries to hide it, she's made it fairly obvious that she fancies me. I would like to see you try to charm her away." William smirked as he challenged Ban. With an irritated sigh, the smaller man stood up.

"I would like to to see your reaction when I succeed! While we're trapped here, we might as well make things interesting. Five pounds to whoever gets in her bedchamber first!

Will scoffed and stood up as well. His mouth spread into a cocky, amused grin.

"Very well."

 **My goodness, I hope I wrote them in character. It's kind of hard when one of them was a real person and the other was mostly an ass from what I saw in a very one-dimensional potray** **al. I'm sorry for now replying to reviews and such. I have a PM on the app I'm using but after using it for a bit I'm fairly certain it doesn't work!** **But I can tell you that all will be revealed in later chapters**


	12. I am The Walrus

When James had first encountered technology from the 21st century, he had been quite surprised and even frightened. Certainly his millitary training has helped to curb his reactions a bit, and the reactions of his comrades as matter of fact. But the shock still faintly echoed within him. He enountered every unfamiliar thing with all mixtures of childlike awe and mind-numbing fear. His introduction to the future with that short metal demon caused mostly the latter of the two.

But he'd rather not think about that fateful encounter anymore than he has to.

Miss Bradford's quartes were unlike anything he had ever seen before. (Not counting the setting he was just previously in, obviously!) It could best be descibed as organized chaos, with a recurring theme. Miss Bradford seemed to be quite fascinated with science and mathmatics. Unusually so, especially for a member of the fairer sex. Most of her books, her decorations and even some of those plastic cases that he learned contained 'dvd's were at least remotely related to her apparent obsession. This was especially so in one isolated corner of the room. It contained a small stand that a smooth white surface was mounted on. He figured it must be like a chaulkboard, as it had writing on it that appeared to come from the 'dry erase markers' that rested near it. The writing itself looked like bunch of complicated mathmatical problems. James was never really the best performer in basic arithmatic, and these problems had letters, runelike figures, all sorts of crazy things. It would make his head spin if he tried to comprehend the meaning, so the apalled dragoon moved on.

Wilkins noticed how quiet it was all around him and scanned the area. Bordon was sitting down and silently glowering at a bit of space in front of him. Miss Smith was nowhere to be found. Tavington and Tarleton were behind a closed door doing who-knows-what. He really didn't care to know whatever activities his commanding officer could be participating in.

Wilkins cautiously stepped up to a huge, flat, black surface mounted on a thin table. He ran his fingers along it; smooth, hard, and it displayed his reflection. Perhaps it was some sort of looking glass? Certainly a curious place for one... James traced the edge of it, feeling a set of ridges that can be pushed backwards a bit.

The looking glass suddenly exploded in color and sound and a very startled James jumped back a few feet. He stared, slackjawed, at the scene that lay before him. It was of a man in a straw hat and blue-glass spectacles, an enourage of crazily dressed people trailed behind him in a setting of colorful lights and furniture. An erethral set of long notes played in the background.

" _Hate to mess with your grove, New York, but we're about two years ahead--!"_

"Excuse me, sir? How did you get in there?"

James paid attention to nothing else, although he heard a very alarmed exclamation from Major Bordon behind him. At least he's snapped out of it now.

 _"--ready graduated from what's been going on, to where it's going."_

Wilkins raised his voice.

"Sir can you hear me? Are-- Are you a witch?" Bordon stood up and pressed his hands against the mirror.

"What sorcery is this? Reveal yourself!"

Still no answer. The man patted a set of books entititled 'I am the Walrus' and stepped onto a stage absolutley saturated with color. Wilkins has never seen anything so wonderful or bizzare in his entire life. And from the frighened yet awed look on Bordon's face, neither has he. He realized by now that he and the major were simply witnesses peering into their world, so he was reluctantly content to watch the scene before him unfold.

" _Amen"_ James sat down. Bordon gave up and joined him. The man began to sing.

" _I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together. See how they run like pigs from a gun see how they fly. I'm crying."_

The soldiers quickly exchanged glances, then stared back at the screen. James was completely frozen, a mixture of horror and mesmerization captivated him. Bordon watched with a reserved expression, only his eyebrows were raised at the nonsensical lyrics. The audience in the screen seemed to be taken in by 'The Eggman/Walrus' as well.

The setting started to get distorted and blurry, either a trick of the eyes, or by some sort of magic the singing man possessed. There was a short music break and the mirror displayed a young couple laying in a transparent bed. James gasped at the sensuality. Richard was surprised as well but he did something unexpected; his mouth briefly twitched upwards in his version of a smile. Then, the colors abruptly changed; their world was absolutely saturated and distorted with it. A few curses softly escaped James as he gripped his knees tightly. Bordon leaned forward, allowing himself to escape into this world that appeared to bend reality.

" _Sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun... If the sun don't come you get a tan from standing in the English rain.'_

The brightness began to disturb their eyes that were so used to a world of natural lighting. Still, neither couldn't look away even if they wanted to. The dragoons didn't notice Miss Smith come into the room and approach the magic looking glass.

" _I am the eggman._

 _Whoo!_

 _They are the eggmen._

 _Whoo!_

 _I am the walrus!_

 _Goo Go Ga--"_

James blinked when everything in the looking glass dissappeared into black. He found Miss Smith standing right next to it, holding one of the ridges. It seems that she had somehow broken the spell that had captivated him and his comrade. He was relieved that it was gone, but Richard actually found that he was a little disappointed.

"Uh...what was that?" James asked slowly, still recovering from his stunned state.

"That was the television I mentioned. It occurs to me that I didn't explain before what it does. I aplogize for that, but it looks like you've figured it out now." Miss Smith shrugged.

"But... what was _that?"_ Richard sputtered out, jerking his head at the television. He couldn't verbalize specifically what 'that' was.

"What did you just watch?" James confirmed her question with a slight nod of his head and widened eyes.

"I have noooo idea, but it was trippy. I can tell you that it was clearly fictional, and not all shows on there are like that. At all. I'm going back into the kitchen now." She unceremoniously announced as she began to dissappear out of the doorway.

"Wait!" Richard called out. The tall woman stopped in her tracks.

"Could I see the rest of it?" She shrugged and gave him an odd look, but made the people on the screen come back. James scoffed and moved on, but Richard kept watching. Peculiar as the show may be, it provided the perfect distraction from his equally peculiar reality.

 **Aside from a bit of character development, this chapter was completely pointless, I admit. But I have to fill the space where Elizabeth is gone somehow and what better way than to see how the guys are doing.**

 **PS: One helpful hint if you ever find yourself taking care of time travelers is to be cautious when introducing them to the tv. A movie musical about the hippie movement would cause some serious WTF moments for even the most seasoned TV watchers.**


	13. 'Fine' Dining

Elizabeth walked through the doorway, haphazardly loaded with walmart bags and several pizza boxes. She looked around, pleasantly suprised to see that nothing was on fire and nobody was in the process of a mental breakdown. The only thing she heard was the tv, and she saw Richard, James, and William chilling in their respective seats. Two of them were watching, while it seemed that Wilkins has gotten hold of Amelia's laptop. He was calmly trying to type and the only indication of frustration was a small frown. Suprisingly, they were all very peaceful, even considering what was on the tv.

" _I need a fix 'cause I'm going doooown_

Down t _o the bits that I, left uuuptoooow_ n

 _I need a fix 'cause I'm, going dooooown_

 _Mother Superior Jumped the guuuuuun!_

 _MOTHER SUPERIOR JUMPED THE GUUUUUN!"_

Across the Universe. Huh. That's an...interesting movie choice for people who previously didn't even know what one was. Maybe there was a bit of relatable stuff... war and riots and whatnot. Elizabeth shut the door behind her, still unnoticed by the trio. They were still too enamored by Joe Anderson and the Vietnam veterans singing in their hospital beds. Elizabeth wandered deeper into the room and deposited her bags on the floor and the boxes on the coffee table. Finally she was noticed by a very red faced, uncomforable-looking Richard. She regarded him with concern, then looked at William. He watched the movie with a scowl on his face, clearly he was not enjoying himself.

"Are--ahem...Are women really permitted to wear this kind of thing?" The Major delicately asked her, obviously still embarrasssed.

"Yeah, some do. Really even this isn't considered so scandalous."

James overheard the conversation and looked up. His mouth and eyes gaped wide open before he hung his head down, the only visible part of his face was a very red forehead. Thankfully the scene was over now and the girls had dissappeared, leaving the other two to investigate the stack of boxes that produced a very tantalizing scent.

"Has anyone seen Amelia?"

A skinny hand popped up in the air from the space in between the couch and the rocking chair. A head and body soon joined as her friend crawled out of her hiding spot. She was met with several suprised and wierded out gazes.

"She's been back there for a few hours, I couldn't tell you why." Richard remarked tiredly and shook his head.

' _I_ _should have known._ '

"What were you doing back there?" Beth asked, her hands placed on her hips and she was trying not to laugh.

Amy shrugged. "I dropped my phone down here, and I stayed for a while because it was a good place to think."

"Okay Amy..." Beth started with an amused scoff. "Just--" She cut herself off and made a beckoning motion with her fingers. The other girl scooted across the floor to a more open spot, ignoring the murmurs about 'unladylike conduct.' Elizabeth turned off the tv.

"I also don't see Banastre, where is he?" William bristled a bit at her use of his first name.

"He's in the bathroom." Amy answered in a monotone.

"Okay, cool. We'll just wait for him then."

"I thought it was quite warm, actually..." A befuddled Richard quietly remarked, ignored by the others.

After a while, he still didn't come back and the blonde went to check on him.

"Hey, Banastre? Are you alright in there?" She knocked on the door. She could hear the toilet being flushed; over and over again. Then the scuffling of footsteps as he opened the door.

"Beth, you have to come see this!" He exclaimed as her right hand was unwittingly taken by his left and she was quickly pulled to the porcelan throne. Then he dropped her hand and pulled the lever, watching with fascinated glee as the water dissappeared from the bowl in a whirlpool. Elizabeth tried so hard (and failed) to keep her laughter in.

"Something amuses you, Madame?" She looked up and was met with a very wounded expression on the officer's face.

"Oh. Uh...I'm sorry... That there is called a toilet. It's replaced the chamber pot. And that lever you've been pulling is how you get rid of the...waste material." His brows shot up in realization.

"Aaaahhh... How efficient!" Beth giggled again.

"Right?! Much better than flinging it out on the street. Helps limit disease and whatnot..."

Banastre wanted to continue to explore the wonders of indoor plumbing, but the woman shooed him out of the bathroom. She promised she'd show him more after they've all eaten, however. That and the mention of food was enough to convince him to join the others. She trailed behind him shaking her head. The men and Amy were all settled in their various spots, Elizabeth turned off the tv and addressed them.

"Now... to those of you who are unfamiliar with the cuisine of Italy, these boxes may look like nothing. But inside they contain a valuable staple of the modern American diet." She gave eveyone a plate and a few napkins, then she knelt down and opened one of the boxes, allowing the scent to spread to their faces. The tough, hardened dragoons all sort of melted as soon as it hit their noses and they turned into curious, wide eyed hungry boys. She smirked and presented it with a dramatic sweeping motion of her arm, elliciting a few chuckles from her guests.

"This, gentlemen, is called a pizza. Please, observe while Amy and I demonstrate how to eat it."

They each took a slice and began to eat. Banstre caught on quickly, James reluctantly joined after a shrug of his shoulders, William brandished a napkin and a small sneer before starting, and Richard looked on in disgust.

"Come on Richard, you must be hungry!"

With a sigh, he joined Tarleton on the floor. He daintily took the smallest slice, to be contrasted with Banastre. The short officer had ambitiously taken two slices and made a 'pizza sandwich' out of them, eating with zeal despite his challenges holding the food.

Once their initial disgust and horror had passed, the dragoons seemed to enjoy themselves. They ate slowly but surely, conversing and dining long after both the girls had their fill. They all had various questions, varying from the economy to Beth's poster of Einstein with his tongue sticking out. The meal finally ended after an hour. Only one half of a sausage pizza was left and with the amount of stuff the girls had to answer, they began to feel like search engines. (Including the part where they had to explain search engines. Wilkins wanted to know what 'A Google' was.) The rest of the afternoon was spent getting over another hurtle: quartering british soldiers.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

1:30 pm

Richard Bordon stiffly walked into Amy's living room, air mattress and toiletries in hand. Literally the first thing they saw was the metal monstrosity that he sworn had become his greatest nemesis. He backed away and he bared his teeth like a wild animal.

' _Shit! Anything but that beast again!'_

The thing had the crude figure of a human, albeit very short and bulky. It rolled over to Amy holding up an arm-like appendage that had a three pronged claw for a hand. She put her jacket on its 'arm.'

"Thanks, M.A.R.S." She said to the creature. It let out a few electronic sounding grunts and beeps in response, then rolled over to the alarmed men. Wilkins swiftly took a few steps away from the creature, his eyes bulging and his mouth wide open. The metal beast let out a few confused beeps and moved towards the captain, who was against the wall by now. Miss Smith stepped in between the men and the contraption.

"It's alright M.A.R.S, just put my stuff away then stand by for further instruction." Bordon breathed a sigh of relief when it lowered its laden arm and slowly made its way to the closet on the other side of the room, seeming to mutter to itself in those same electronic tones.

"What is that thing?" He heard Wilkins ask, his voice shaking.

"M.A.R.S, or Mobile Assistance Robotic System, is a machine that I made a few years ago. He runs on technology, computers and algorithms. I programmed him to assist me. He can cook, clean, and help me with some of my more dangerous experiments. He's also programmed as an alarm system, that's why he confronted you earlier."

They stared at it with calm curiosity now, watching the robot open the closet door and place her coat on a hook. It slowly pushed the door closed and wheeled out of the room. The Major remembered Mars, the great dane that belonged to the Lord General. The somewhat ironic connection was not lost to him, just kept to himself, just like all of his other wry commentaries.

"Man made servants." Bordon mused. "Why not hire real ones?"

"Uh, the form of servitude that was normal in your time is looked down on now. Also, most real people won't handle Radium or liquid mercury for you no matter how well you pay them." Miss Smith sighed and sat down on the sofa. Wilkins relaxed a bit and sat next to the odd lady.

' _We shall see if she truly is harmless.'_


	14. The Failed Pursuit

The rest of the afternoon was quite busy and interesting. Between the men moving into their new temporary homes, beginning to adapt to all the changes... It was anything but uneventful.

Both of the boys had helped her set up a new sleeping area for Tarleton. Of course, 'helping' is an understatement. Really the most she had to do was explain how to use the air pump to fill up the mattress. William did most of the work, and Banastre did his best to try and one-up him and succeeded a few times despite his disabled state. Clearly they each took the manual labor as an opportunity to showcase their strength. (She was quite oblivious to the fact that she was the reason for their competition, however.)

The scientist had to explain all of the modern appliances in her space a second time, to Banastre. Then, to her dismay, he asked about some of the pop culture stuff she had lying around. (You try explaining Harry Potter to someone from a society that literally tries and executes people for witchcraft!) Still, she found the greencoat to be a very pleasant, and very talkative man. She's learned all about him in the span of less than two hours early that afernoon; He nearly chatted her ear off about his old life in Liverpool, his seven brothers and sisters, his athletic prowess. One time when he was in a theatre he stood up during intermission to deliver a funny eulogy to a friend that wasn't dead at all!

William, as it turns out, has a charming side as well. It was just hidden beneath his temperment earlier when he was trying to adapt to 2016. He still wasn't nearly as warm or approachable as his friend, but he was dignified and polite. And he had a very dry sense of humor, another difference between him and Banastre. It amazed Elizabeth how two totally different people got along like the Colonels did! Then again, she didn't quite have the people skills to do the same.

Another thing she eventually noticed though, was how strange the officers have been acting towards her. Like they were competing for her or something. She didn't get why, but no amount of charm was going to lessen her suspicion. People are rarely ever nice to her just to be nice. They usually just want something. And although this kind of attention from two attractive men was new and flattering to her at first, she couldn't help but feel... some type of way about it, especially later on when all of the interaction has mentally started to take a toll on her. That being said, dinner was absolutely uncomfortable for her, the nearly relentless flirting and little smouldering looks. Afterwards, when they filed into the living room, was no different.

She planted herself into the recliner, (deliberately chosen becaise it can only seat one person!) while the boys seated themselves on the couch. At this point the very introverted and exausted girl wanted nothing more than to sit still and stare into space for a while with her thoughts. But that would be considered rude behavior. Banastre's voice cut through the momentary silence, as usual.

"So Elizabeth," he started before taking a sip of wine. "what do you do when you are not working?"

His voice slurred a bit and his Lanashire accent was loosened from his normal controlled lilt. Elizabeth really regretted buying that stupid wine now. When he asked her for a few bottles, she didn't expect him to drink most of them in the span of four hours! He was way past tipsy by now, and she had lost count of how much he had. He hasn't done anything innappropriate, but her years in college made her aware of what alcohol could do to even the nicest of guys. Even though his drunken state made her uncomfortable, she still had to be polite.

"Oh! Uh... Honestly I--I spend most of my waking hours at work but..." She paused to think.

"...I was in band, as a student. I still play my instrument sometimes." She added with a chuckle.

"Really? How interesting!" William commented. "What instrument?"

"The clarinet. I don't know if they existed in your time, but... It's a woodwind instrument, with a middle and high range and metal keys."

"I'd like to hear you play sometime." William commented. He honestly didn't particularly care for music, and from what he's heard it's absolutely horrid in the 21st century! But any opportunity to win the wager was a welcome one. He and Tarleton had both sort of made a sport out of pursuing ladies. So far, Elizabeth was the biggest challenge yet. She was nearly as skittish as his horse, for God's sake! And that has made it extremely difficult for both of them to get close to her. He scrutinized the way she smiled and nodded. Completely forced and bashful. Dammit!

"As long as you're not _too_ hard as a critic," She half teased, half mumbled, "I haven't actually played for anyone in years."

William wanted to reassure her. In his eyes, she was a weak, nervous woman who liked strong, secure men. However, just when he opened his mouth, he was beaten to it by Banastre. If only they were alone!

"I'm certain you'll be much better than my sister and her pianoforte! She rarely practiced and so whenever she did play... absolute torture! Do you practice often Beth?"

"Only whenever I'm stressed out so... pretty much every day." William frowned at this admittance, but said nothing about it.

 _'I can't say I am really surprised.'_

"...Well then, I'm sure you'll do just spendidly! I bet that mouth and those hands of yours must be very talented indeed!" Ban responded with a chuckle, trying not to slur his words too much. Unfortunately, his inhibited brain couldn't think of a way to phrase that last part any better before it slipped through. Silence hung in the air for a moment as Elizabeth's reddened face shot him a blank stare, save for a smile that was meant to be polite but came off more as twitchy.

"...Right. Thanks, I guess. If you'll excuse me though, I have to use the bathroom." She quickly said as she stood up and left before they could stop her.

"Oh sweet Lord!" The greencoat quietly cursed as he realised what he just did and cradled his head. He tried to stand up to follow her but his head was swimming and his stomach felt nauseous.

"Well done," Was all Tavington had to say as he raised his glass in a mock toast. He wasn't nearly as drunk as his companion. William was only partially through his third glass. He was actually quite irritated. Ban's just made this wager more difficult for both of them! The smaller man groaned in defeat.

"I had no idea how difficult this would be! She's worse than a caught rabbit!"

Tavington's mouth twisted into a sly grin.

"No, not quite 'caught' I'm afraid, Ban. You'll have to be more creative to catch her. Of course, that just makes you want Elizabeth even more."

"You're damned right it does!" Tarleton cried.

"Well, you're not going to get her while I'm still around. Yet, you don't seem to have much trouble scaring her off on your own." He quipped as he clapped his friend on the shoulder.

"As I recall, you haven't exactly made her feel at ease either." Banastre ground out.

"Perhaps not, but she's had a little more time to get used to me. Not to mention I know better than to pursue a woman while utterly _soused."_ He quirked an eyebrow when Banastre swayed forward in his seat.

"Oh dear. Do you think you can make it to your bed on your own? Because I'll _not_ carry you." His tone was cynical and bitter, matching his irritation.

"I'll be fine." Banastre dismissed, very drowsily...then he passed out right there.

William was true to his word and left Tarleton on the sofa, only bothering to knock him into a horizontal position and haphazardly fling a few blankets on top. He waited for a few minutes. Elizabeth still didn't return. She was still in the bathroom, trying to get ahold of herself but failing.

 _'Oh man, w_ _hat the fuck did I get myself into? These guys, they're gonna be the death of me!'_

She jumped when she heard a firm knock at the door. It must be William. She hoped. The last thing she wanted was to deal with an almost blackout drunk dude. She's going to hide the last bottles somewhere! She turned the knob, her hand shaking. She opened the door and was met with William's piercing eyes scrutinizing her trembling frame with concern.

"Are you alright? I'm terribly sorry. He didn't mean any harm... at least I'm fairly certain." He murmured an apology, grabbing her shoulders and almost kneeling so that he was eye level with her. She couldn't really keep eye contact with him, however. Then again she's been having trouble with looking him in the eyes. Very curious.

"No it--it's alright. I think I actually o-overreacted. I know he didn't mean any harm. Thank you for checking on me though. And I'm sorry for freaking out, I'm just not used to...to _this."_

"This?" He asked, not understanding.

"Well, men actually interested in me... romantically. It hasn't really happened before, and suddenly there are two that want me... I guess it's just overwhelmed me a little bit." She shrugged and kept her eyes downcast. Her breathing was quite erratic, he noticed. Tavington tilted her chin up with two fingers, forcing her to look up at him.

"Quite frankly it amazes me that a beautiful lady like you has never been regarded in such a manner!" He started, pleased when she blushed again. "You really are quite a unique little thing. I cannot promise that either of us will stop pursuing you, but Banastre's drinking was quite innapropriate. I shall have to _persuade_ him to stop." He was certainly going to do just that. William cannot seduce a woman who is on edge, particularly when said anxiety is caused by the reckless drinking of his own roommate! The girl's mouth spread into a grateful smile.

"Thank you." She huddled in closer and hugged him. Sort of. She was quite inexperienced with human contact, so her body was rigid and her trembling arms were sort of awkwardly draped on his back. He kind of just stood there as well, not really knowing what to do with his own body. He was unaccustomed to giving comfort, normally he was the one causing pain. But he supposed this was his chance to be the dashing hero for once. With one deep breath, his arms wrapped around her securely in a tight embrace. He felt her breath begin to even out and her muscles slowly relax until she was melting at his touch.

"I do have one question however."

"Hmmm?" Was all she managed to say because her face was pressed to her chest.

"If you aren't used to men calling upon you, how did you know the meaning behind Tarleton's comment?"

After a moment of embarassed silence, she responded.

"My old roomate was very experienced, and she once lectured me about different ways to--" She left the last few words unsaid.

"I see."

 **It seems that Beth really has her hands full! And guys, I'm sorry that it's been a while! I was honestly struggling with this chapter. I wrote out different versions, most of them didn't work. But now inspiration has come, in the middle of the night of course! More will come soon (with real chapters, I promise!)** ***dons imaginary sunglasses and bad Terminator impression*** **I'LL BE BACK!**


	15. The University

Monday, 2:07 am

With a groan, Banastre awoke from the couch. He had a terrible headache and he was basically trying to remember how to be alive at this point. As he gained more consciousness, though, he felt the leather surface underneath him, and the warm blankets that covered him.

'What is that _material? Far softer than both cotton and wool...'_

He smoothed down his mussed auburn hair as he slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that the space was bathed in a curious deep purple light that illuminated the space just enough for him to see but not enough to see properly. He shifted on his back, and he was greeted with an explosion of glowing color that covered some of the ceiling. It was just like the paintings in the hall, formless masses of green, blue, purple and magenta clouds surrounded in darkness and splattered with white dots patterned like stars. It was quite a wonderful sight really, but it made Tarleton wonder if he'd had one too many drinks this time!

He spent a few minutes there, just staring upwards in peace. It was a very rare occasion that Banastre actually took the time to relax. And it was interrupted, when he heard a bit of scuffling in the other room. He quickly sat up, ignoring the protests from his head and stomach. He discovered a dark figure scuffling about in the ajoining area he knew was the kitchen. That space was only illuminated with the curious light as well (he figured that the glowing purple tubes set up in various places were the culprit), so the silhouette could be an intruder for all he knew!

"Who goes there? Reveal yourself!"

The dark figure jumped with a rather feminine yelp, then it reluctantly moved closer to face Ban. He could now make out the features just enough to know that it was Beth.

"I'm sorry Ban... Did I wake you up? I was just..." She trailed off. Her voice was hoarse with sleep, and her manner was so meek that the Dragoon almost laughed and chided her for being so silly! She certainly didn't have to apologize for venturing about her own home. Then again, he knew he did or said something last evening to make her wary of him (if only he could remember what!) so he thought against it.

"It is quite alright Beth," he chucked warmly. "But what are you doing up at this hour?" She shrugged.

"I woke up in the middle of the night, couldn't go back to sleep. Then I got thirsty."

He squinted his eyes and saw in fact that she was holding a clear glass of water.

"Eh, is that so? Well, perhaps you can sit down, maybe talk about whatever is troubling you?"

"Oh, that's alright. Really, this is kind of a normal thing for me!"

"Please, I insist! It's no bother to me at all." Well, that wasn't quite true, as he wanted to lay back down until his head stopped pounding. "I promise I will not bite, as I'm in no condition too anyway."

Elizabeth gently planted herself in the seat next to him. She glanced at him again then kept her eyes cast down, taking a swig of water from her glass. He couldn't help but chuckle.

"Why, you really are as nervous as a caught rabbit! Am I really so terrifying, hmmm?" He purred as he tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"No, n-not really. You're actually really nice. I'm just not really used to having men around, that's all."

He nodded, placing his good hand just above her shoulder blades. He decided to change the subject, looking up at the ceiling again.

"That's quite a lovely...thing...up there. What exactly is it?"

"Oh, that's a blacklight mural of a nebula. It's made of a type of paint that's only visible under fluorescent light." She pointed at one of the purple bulbs, then added, "I made it and a few others throughout the apartment on other nights that I had trouble sleeping. "

His mouth gaped open in amazement.

"Sleep must have eluded you for many nights in order for you to even accomplish this much!"

"Yeah...sometimes I have a lot on my mind. I don't want to wake the neighbors with my music, so I painted instead."

"Ah. And what's on your mind tonight?" She shrugged and shook her head.

"I...I thinking about what might be the best way to help all of you. Then of course there is the question if returning you home is even possible and what we'll do if it's not--"

Despite himself, Banastre laughed.

"Beth... You don't have to lose sleep worrying about us. We are very formidible, resourceful men who are capable of adapting when necessary. And if we are meant to return, I have complete faith you will find a way. If not, then we'll stay. Personally, I find this era quite enjoyable so far!"

"Yeah, you're right." She calmed back down again, and he could see she was getting drowsy.

"Now, why don't you try to rest? You must be exhausted from what you've already done for us." He soothed as he lightly massaged her back. She closed her eyes and leaned toward the touch. He chuckled again, and entwined his arm with hers.

"Allow me."

They stood up, turned off the lights, and made their way to her bedroom. He opened to door for her but did not follow her in.

"Goodnight, miss."

Elizabeth smiled at him. "Goodnight Ban."

He ventured into the bed chamber he was meant to share with William. The snoring of his friend was the only sound in the room, and then the shuffling of plastic membrane as Banastre settled into his bed. It surely wasn't as bad as sleeping in camp at least! He fell asleep almost immediately and dreamt of intelligent steel blues eyes... and hippie girls wearing mini dresses.

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8:15 am

Elizabeth opened the backseat door of her car, Amy and the men were outside with her. Wilkins stared at the vehicle, regarding it almost like a dangerous monster as he shifted uncomfortably in his new cotton button up shirt and jeans. His skin and hair was still a little wet from the 'shower' he took earlier that morning, one layer of fabric was not enough to protect him from the chill in the autumn air. Or from his feeling of exposure. Without the normal weight of the layers of cotton and wool, he felt...naked, vulnerable.

He crossed his arms over his chest and watched in front of him. The colonels already climbed into the car, William in the passenger seat and Banastre in the back. The other officers very reluctantly crawled in, not really feeling like arguing. Amy frowned.

"Liz, the car only has five seats. There are six of us. Someone is going to have to sit on another." Wilkins overheard Miss Smith inform the smaller woman.

"I know. Thanks for volunteering."

"Wha--!" He saw her round eyes widen until they were like saucers, then she uncomfortably glanced back at him and the two other men crammed in with him. The Captain glanced at her with a sly, playful grin, ignoring his own discomfort. Amelia hesitantly joined them, sitting stiffly on James's long legs. He tried to be a gentleman and positioned both of them so that she was securely in place and so that no...intimate areas would touch. He was secretly grateful that her body could provide him warmth for a short while.

He felt her slowly relax and looked up at her face. She seemed to be studying and analyzing every feature on his face, totally engrossed. Then, her hazel eyes made contact with his ocean blue ones, she quickly averted her gaze and suddenly became very interested in whatever was outside the vehicle. He couldn't help but chuckle.

"I don't seem so bad now, do I miss?" He teased. She didn't respond. He suddenly gasped and flinched when Elizabeth shut the door. He heard Bordon chortle at him. James cursed inwardly. Why does his superior have to notice absolutely everything?

All five people stared after Elizabeth as she clambered into the driver's seat. They saw her put on her seatbelt and copied her, with their own respective belts. The soldiers shuddered as the engine roared to life. James lost all of the tiny ounces of confidence and dignity he already possessed as he visibly paled and looked around in a miniature panic when the car started to move. He began to feel queasy after a while. He looked at the woman on his lap staring back at him in concern. This time he averted his gaze. She leaned in so that her mouth was close to his ear.

"Look out the window. It helps with car sickness." He looked at her like she's grown an extra head. He did do as she suggested though, and soon enough he felt better.

The drive itself was chaos. Banastre kept asking Elizabeth to go faster, much to the chagrin of everyone else. Some very British expletives would escape Bordon every time someone honked their horn at her, (mostly some college kids). And every time she stopped at a traffic light, the soldiers would ask what she was waiting for and impatiently tell her to move.

Finally, to Wilkins's relief, Miss Bradford pulled the car up to a row of others and turned it off. Then she got out of the car and opened the backseat door. Colonel Tarleton and Major Bordon all but clambered out of the backseat, Wilkins getting out more slowly to help the woman on his lap exit as well. Soon enough, everyone was standing in a tight knit group on the pavement.

"Thanks." James heard Amelia say. She was standing next to him, awkwardly hunching and fiddling with her hands. He could swear that she was blushing, as well. He smirked.

"You are very welcome."

The two women and four dragoons marched almost in unison towards a large brick building that read 'Oklahoma University Science Department.'

"Watch out for other cars, you guys!" Elizabeth called behind her. She immediately heard a car honking and deep English voice cursing. She looked back to find Richard backing away from an undergrad's car in alarm.

"Are you okay Richard?"

The burly man took a few deep breaths before answering, trying to regain his composure. "I'm fine, miss."

Elizabeth nodded. "Alright, well, just be a little more careful. I don't want to have to scrape any of you off the ground."

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The odd group entered the building and walked through the winding corridors in silence. Tavington noticed many unfamiliar, strange things about the place. Several men and women here wore long white coats over their clothes. There were many different types of rooms as far as he could tell. Some looked like performance areas with tables. Some were very neat and sterile, not unlike the doctor's office he visited earlier. He shuddered at the memory of that place. And there were still other rooms that contained odd contraptions, black screens, more tables. Very different from what he was used to, indeed.

He exchanged glances with Banastre, who looked as uncomfortable as William felt. Ban changed his expression to look more confident, almost nonchalant, and caught up to Elizabeth. He whispered in her ear, with that same charming smile that probably got him into several maiden's bedrooms. Whatever he was telling her, it made her start to giggle and turn red. William frowned.

 _'The relentless flirt.'_

Elizabeth really did seem to enjoy his company though, when he wasn't soused. William probably shouldn't have hidden the wine bottles after all! He decided to take his attention off of the pair by looking at the technology as he passed by. He audibly gasped when he spotted a glass orb that seemed to produce purple lightning! But he also noticed that he and his comrades have started to attract a crowd of strangers staring at them. He silently challenged them, and became very pleased when they went back to their own business.

Soon they reached a door that was labeled 'Bradford, E. PH.D.' Elizabeth unlocked it and let everyone in. Tavington's eyes widened at what he saw. The room was quite large, and filled to the brim with machinery and tools that he couldn't begin to describe. He just barely registered the astonished gasps and exclamations from his comrades.

He turned his attention to the women, almost moving as one to set up various objects in the lab. He studied Elizabeth as she painstakingly set up complicated problems that he couldn't even dream of comprehending. Yet here she was, completely engrossed and professional. She has completely changed as soon as she walked in, he noticed. It boggles the mind. Anywhere else she was a shy, nervous wreck that came off as incompetent. And yet, this alien environment was so intimidating to four hardened dragoons but it was the place where she seemed to feel the most comfortable. The irony was not lost on him, and he continued to watch her work even while the others wandered around to explore the laboratory.


	16. The Break

Five hours. The two scientists were writing, reading, and theorizing for five hours, not even stopping to rest. Bordon and Wilkins spent most of their time exploring the laboratory and trying to figure out what all of the equipment did. Well, as best they could while heeding the many warnings about how hazardous, fragile, and/or expensive most of it is. That being said, Richard was bored. Very bored. He quietly kept to himself, as he normally did. He glanced at Tavington and Banastre, who were both paying attention to _Doctor_ Bradford (as he's learned to formally address her) excitedly ramble on about... some maddeningly complicated lecture that flew mostly over the officer's head. It was clear to him that his commanding officers did not really pay attention to her words either, but rather the manner in which she acted. For the more she talked about physics, the more passionate and animated she'd become. Even from across the large space she could hear her voice, and witness some rather amusing gestures and mannerisms.

His mouth twitched upwards as he looked dow. at a metal box. It apparently held something called a nitrogen laser in it. And although he had no idea what that was, the bright orange label that read 'Danger' discouraged him from trying to find out.

 _'Best to leave that alone, I think.'_

Then he abandoned his observations, when he heard the voices of _Doctor_ Bradford and _Doctor_ Smith begin to rise in volume and frustration. Again. They seemed to grow more irritable towards each other, and their disputes grew more frequent as the day went by. Well, it made his time here more interesting at least. That is in fact why none of the men tried to halt the disputes, it was really one of the few entertainment sources they had!

"Excuse me, but how is this not a valid, applicable theory for time travel?" Doctor Bradford asked the taller woman, pointing at an equation with her marker. Bordon has taken to paying more attention to her during her spats. Her energy did not deflate at all during them!

"The force of gravity stretches time so that it is slowed down compared to other areas where gravity isn't as strong!"

"Yeah, but how could the men have been exposed to enough gravity for hundreds of years to pass by them? You aren't honestly saying that they simply got on their horses and took a field trip to the local black hole! This is clearly an effect of quantum mechanics." Doctor Smith argued, her demeanor arrogant and almost obnoxious. She took a moment to look at the annoyed scientist's equations with a haughty expression.

"Also, your work on this looks like the same derivative dribble that's been scrawled along restroom stalls at MIT."

The blonde scoffed, her shoulders bunched up and her arms akimbo while her head bobbed in all directions. "At least I didn't have to invent a bunch of alternate universes just to make the math come out right to support your Quantum theory!"

"I didn't make it come out, the math is there!"

"In what universe?" Elizabeth laughed out in disbelief.

"In all of them, that is the point!"

Richard raised his eyebrows at the two ladies who seemed to reach yet another impasse. Doctor Smith stared at the other with stubbornness and Doctor Bradford tiredly returned the gaze. Bordon really felt sympathy for her at this point, as Doctor Smith seemed quite tiring based 9n his impression of her! The small woman sighed and supported her forehead on one hand, clearly frustrated and exhausted. She held that position for several moments, the men all watching her silently with a mixture of amusement, concern, and irritation. Richard anticipated her snapping and murdering her co-worker any second now.

"I think we need to take a break. I don't know how long we've been in here, but..." She checked her cell phone.

"It's 12:30. We should probably eat something!"

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It was a beautiful day outside. The temperature was cool, the leaves in the many trees throughout the school grounds began to turn color. The courtyard was uncrowded, and if it wasn't for the drumline practicing in the near distance, it would have been quite peaceful as well. But as their energetic chants and drumbeats became the cadence she walked by almost every day, it was only a second thought to her until she heard the soldiers commenting on the performance. She glanced behind her shoulder (the men all sort of trailed behind her like ducklings!) at Wilkins, who's mouth cracked into an open grin at the dancing percussionists. Bordon was a bit more confused, but he seemed to be quite entertained as well. William ignored them entirely, he was more preoccupied with admiring the scenery and the foliage. The music drew more faint though, as they strolled closer to the Student Union Building.

The party of six soon sat at a table secluded from the bustling cafeteria, some eating with gusto and others picking at their food.

"Er, Doctor? What exactly is this?" Richard pointed at the tray he received from the international food line.

"It's Chinese food. That meat is chicken, with a flavored sauce on it that gives it it's orange color. You also have fried rice, and the tube thing on your plate is an egg roll. It's filled with vegetables." He helplessly glanced down at it.

"Ah. And how do you eat it? They have only provided me with a pair of these sticks..." He displayed two plain wooden chopsticks in his hand, still wrapped in cellophane.

"They should have given you other silverware too...I don't really know how to use those either, so I'll get you a fork."

She got up and marched into the food area. Banastre chuckled to himself a bit after swallowing some mashed potatoes.

"Well Bordy, I hope that the lady waiting ahead of you in that line was worth it! Quite a lovely creature too! The black glossy hair--"

"I'll probably not see her again though. I think I've offended her. I suppose it is for the best. But I'm so damned hungry!" Richard lamented.

"It doesn't look _that_ bad..." Wilkins retorted.

"It looks messy!"

The captain shook his head as he struggled to place even the tiniest morsel of spaghetti on his fork.

"I'm afraid you're just preaching to the choir now." The others chuckled, even Tavington.

Richard glanced over hoping that the woman has returned with silverware. Not yet. Desperate, he tentatively freed the wooden sticks from their clear covering and skewered a chunk of meat through one of them. The others looked on while they ate. Watching the normally rigid, proper man awkwardly raise the food to his lips and get sauce on his face was very amusing indeed. He did succeed in putting the meat in his mouth though, as he chewed his eyes scrunched up and a little 'hmm' emanated from his throat. Elizabeth shortly returned with a spoon, fork, and napkin.

"It isn't objectionable at least." Bordon remarked after he swallowed. The flavor was far from what he was used too, sweet and savory at the same time! But quite tasty in fact. Not objectionable at all. He curtly thanked Elizabeth for assisting him and ate the rest of his food with minimal struggle. (Unlike Wilkins, who was forced to eat up to four strings of pasta at a time until Amy finally helped him.)

Elizabeth heard Banastre politely cough next to her. She turned her head towards him. He grinned, the same way he always did when she had his attention.

"So tell me Beth, what is it like working without many people accompanying you? It's sounds rather boring to me, seeing as there appears to be few to keep you company in your work environment."

"Actually today was kind of a special case. I normally work alone." Banastre only frowned at her.

"It's actually more enjoyable than it sounds. Well, to me, it is. I like working in places that are quiet, and I can focus without too much unnecessary interaction."

"Such as the several tiffs with Doctor Smith?" William interjected from her other side. He appeared to be done eating although he had barely eaten his chicken fingers. Not that she really blamed him.

"Yeah. It actually helps things get done on occasion, but it's mostly just a distraction."

"Ah. Well, I can't imagine having to be isolated from others for only one day, let alone regularly. I'd likely go mad!" Ban exclaimed

"Most people would. I'm not like most people."

Banastre chuckled.

"No, you are certainly not." He said, his grin widening.

 _'So it's gonna be like this, huh? I know he likes me, but tone down the flattery so we can have regular conversation dude!'_

Elizabeth said nothing about it though. She only nodded with a polite smile. Thankfully, William changed the subject by asking about some of the equipment he witnessed in her lab. Then at one point, he somehow ended up leading her into performing a condensed, impromtu lecture about string theory. While the science talk seemed to bore the other guys, William listened intently. Pure curiosity and contemplation were the only emotions on his face.

It was kind of funny to her. He didn't really seem like the intellectual type these past few days. But of all of the things in this time period, she noticed that the advances in science and technology were what fascinated him the most. As well as appreciation for nature, it seems. He was very intelligent as well as observant, she noticed. Although he didn't quite grasp the more complicated concepts, he has soaked in as much of the two centuries's academic advances as he could! Of course, it helps that he actually seemed interested. By now she expected most people (not counting co-workers) to fall asleep whenever she opened her mouth! His interest was new to her, but very refreshing. She's figured that she'll get along just fine with William Tavington.

 **Hello! I'd like to thank you for sticking with this story so far despite my very erratic updates! I can't promise a regular schedule though, as I get stuck sometimes. I swear that I won't just up and abandon it though, and I promise the actual plot will progress! Much like Kylo Ren, I finish whatever is started! (Not when it comes to the dark side, though. Just...no.)**


	17. A Botched Confrontation

**Well, the meaningless fluff is over for now. This chapter is going to get kind of angsty.**

Friday

The week progressed without much incident so far, the girls and the soldiers fell into a routine of sleeping, eating, and trying to get used to their new surroundings. The dragoons seemed a bit more like pets now than anything else. Well, yes and no. Pets in the sense that the girls were responsible for taking care of them and making sure they don't get into trouble. Not pet in the sense that every single one of them were capable of brutally murdering the girls in their sleep if they saw fit.

The scientists brought the men to work every day for the past week, allowing them to kind of roam the building. Neither of the women were getting anywhere with their research so far, their hard work amounted to meaningless, half written equations on a mostly empty whiteboard. The pressure to make _some_ progress mounted as 4:30 drew nearer, the official time that they were supposed to head home for the weekend.

Elizabeth let out a dramatic, drawn-out groan as she tried to rub away her incoming migraine, caused by her frustration and the fact that she didn't sleep well at all the past few days. Of course, that caused a few problems with the others, as she acted very weird when she was sleep deprived. Laughing at almost everything, more wooden interaction with others, talking to herself, getting overly sentimental, other various acts of a random and unstable nature. The side effects went on, and the peculiarities certainly didn't go unnoticed by the two colonels. (Of course, they only chalked it up to normal behavior, which actually was not far from the truth!)

She winced when an alarm on her phone went off. 4:30. Now it was just a matter of time before either her boss or the dragoons try to drag them out of the lab kicking and screaming. So she left the laboratory with a hollow, empty feeling overtaking her.

Soon she found the guys near the front of the building, when she and Amy passed them to check out. The dragoons didn't notice them however, they curiously leered at robots and flashy equipment through the window of the student engineering lab the same way kids would admire toys displayed at the front of a shop. They were even pressed to the glass, 'oohh'ing and 'aahh'ing. Elizabeth warmly smiled despite her run-down mood.

However, as the soldiers were purring over the electronics, they kind of drew a crowd of female (and some male) researchers and students purring over them. Particularly William, who was so enamored with a large plasma orb he didn't even notice the young people staring. Elizabeth couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. She bristled when an undergrad got just a little too close to him for her liking. She glanced at Amy, who only shrugged.

"They have many evolutionary features that are considered suitable in human males." Amelia said in a matter of fact, even tone. So helpful.

"You always did have a knack for stating the obvious." Elizabeth grumbled bitterly. She looked at Banastre and James, who in fact did notice several girls oogling them and appeared to be chatting them up. She quietly scoffed, but oddly found that she didn't really care about that very much. She discreetly crawled up to William until she was at his side, then directed three simple words to his admirers that were currently staring at her incredulously.

"He's with me."

She glowered at them as they showed visible disappointment. She became quite pleased when the crowd slowly dissipated and they all retreated with their tails between their legs. This feeling was really weird and unfamiliar to her. She's never exactly been the jealous type, but she's also never felt this sort of attraction to anyone like she did with him. And she thought that this attachment in itself was irrational, because she's only known him for a few days, she doesn't even know if she really likes him, or if it was infatuation! What if he--"

 _'SHUT UP BRAIN!'_

Elizabeth shook her head. Life would probably be so much easier if she stopped over thinking everything, but that was never going to happen. She looked back at the large man, who was gazing back at her with curiosity and exhilaration.

"How does it work?" He breathed. She couldn't help but smile at his curiosity, that thirst for knowledge. She explained the science and he grasped the concept surprisingly quickly. They continued talking all the way to the car. Yes, he would be very compatible with her indeed, Elizabeth practically felt it in her soul. Unbeknownst to both of them, Ban looked on from behind, and he was very displeased indeed.

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8:07 pm

To say that Banastre Tarleton was unhappy would be an understatement. He was absolutely livid, he had been for a while. Elizabeth was supposed to be _his_ by now. He had never met another like her, not by a long shot! Even now when she's all _interesting,_ he was absolutely taken by her, and not in the same way he was with the others! Unfortunately, she only has eyes for William fucking Tavington. Not because of the charm or the flattery, no. William has never indulged in such sentiment unlike Tarleton, and Beth didn't appear to respond well to it anyway. It was all because he pretended to care about her work. Please! Banastre did precisely the same thing, although perhaps not as convincingly, but by now she was clearly not as interested in him as he was in her. It drove him absolutely mad and in need of relief. He hasn't been with a woman in almost a week, for God's sake!

Banastre stormed into his and Tavington's shared room, glaring daggers at the other man that was calmly sitting down, reading A Brief History of Time. Even now he works to keep up this charade.

"What the hell are you playing at?" He hissed. William looked up, nonchalant.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean." He said, slightly annoyed as he closed the book.

"Don't toy with me, Tavington! You've been going at her since Monday. How long do you think you can keep pretending to care about her? She is _mine_ to seduce."

"Seduction? Is that what you think I was doing? I never took you as the jealous type Ban." William quirked an eyebrow, putting the book on the bed. "I also believe that Elizabeth is not _yours_ to do anything with." He quipped.

"You knew that I was interested in her from the moment I saw her. Keep your hands off." William widened his eyes, completely indignant.

"You are interested in _every_ woman you see Tarleton! I'm sure that you have forgotten all about them by now."

"Elizabeth is different!" Banastre exclaimed, flailing his arms up like a teenager. William stood up quickly.

"Exactly. She is different, so you should not treat her the same way you treat other women. It would be quite unbecoming for her." He said in an eerily calm and dangerous voice. Banastre took a few steps back.

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Elizabeth was chilling on the couch when she heard voices rising from the bedrooms. She crept down to investigate, and found that the doorway to the boy's room was closed. She was just about to knock on the door, but the declaration she heard from Banastre's voice made her hesitate.

"Why should it matter to you? Neither of us were meant to keep her! We have a plan remember?"

"And yet I believe it was you who set up the wager!"

 _'Huh?'_

"I believe that you agreed to it! Five pounds who whoever beds her first!" She gasped despite herself. Of course. That's why they were so nice to her. How could she be so damned stupid?

Banastre continued in a sneering voice, but it was too quiet for Elizabeth to really hear.

"I don't even believe you are capable of feeling love anyway. What makes you think that you would ever deserve someone like her?" That sparked something inside of William. Tarleton noticed his muscles tense and his hands clench into fists. Knowing he struck a nerve, he continued.

"That history book hasn't said very much about you. Pray, I wonder how she would regard you once she learns who you really are? She couldn't possibly remain interested in you once she learns of your atrocities. And it's only a matter of time before the Butcher comes back out to play." He taunted.

Unfortunately, most of his monolougue was spoken so low it was lost on the girl, but she did hear a feral growl emitting from Tavington's throat. She flinched when she heard a loud 'thump' echoing on the wall. She had to intervene, not really caring how it would affect her. She burst into the room to find William throttling Banastre and shoving him up against the wall.

"What the _hell_ is going on here?"

William unceremoniously dropped Banastre, leaving him crumpled on the floor.

"You were eavesdropping?" Tavington sneered in a dangerously cool voice. She noticed the change that came over him, he reverted back to the predator that she first met. She didn't understand, they got along so well... Still, despite her confusion and fear she had to stay stong, not become a poor stuttering mess like she normally did under pressure.

"The walls are r-really thin in this building. The neighbors likely could have heard you." She stated in an uneven, wavering voice as Tavingon's icy orbs stared her down.

"Is that so? I suppose 'The Neigbors' heard an argument that did not concern them, and decided to wait just outside simply so that they could barge in the very second it began to escalate? I suppose they know about the wager now as well!" His voice rose until he was practically shouting at her, his voice dropped into a hiss during the latter part. He strided towards her. She quickly took several steps back, withering under his fiery temper. She couldn't confront him about the bet now, her words remained stuck in her throat.

William continued to rage at her, no longer the man she had begun to admire.

"I suppose it's to be expected from such a foolish girl! Why, you know next to nothing about me! Yet you bothered to waste your care on me as if I were merely a child!"

He knew that he was unfairly lashing out at her. It was necessary, however. Although Tarleton's words enraged him, he was right. William never was meant to keep her. He was meant to go back home and fufill his ambitions! And he was getting too close to her. The cruel Butcher came out of hiding at that point, and he wanted to push her away, hurt her, before she could complicate his life even more.

"I care absolutely nothing about you! You must understand that now! You are nothing but a strange, lonely, pathetic freak. Yes, we did wager upon your virtue, but what can you expect? You are all alone, and unloved."

 _'Just like me._ '

"You will probably remain that way for the remainder of your miserable life." He growled.

He didn't really mean any of it, he just wanted to drive her away. But just one look at her face, that was filled with confusion and hurt, told him that he crossed a line. Part of him wanted to take it all back, although it was too late. Even still, with the Butcher in complete control, he ignored her distress and glared at the her with every bit of ferocity that he's displayed on the battlefield. Slowly, her face hardened, it became devoid of emotion save for her eyes. They glittered with pain and anger, and he could see two wells of tears threatening to escape. She so easily pushed away her pain to save face, he saw that she was stronger than he initially thought.

"Well this strange, lonely, pathetic _freak_ provided you a place to stay, food to eat, and I am trying my best to return you home and you _dare_ to talk to me like that?" She sniffed and angrily wiped off one lone tear that broke free and descended down her cheek. "I'm sorry for whatever the hell I did. But...I think you should leave."

She backed away, held her hands up in surrender, then slapped them against her sides.

His gaze softened as he watched her stiffly walk away and dissappear into her room with a loud slam of the door. His temper already starting to melt away. He briefly stepped back towards her room, his fist hovered over the door. Something stopped him from knocking, however. Perhaps it was foolish pride, perhaps it was even his own guilt. He glanced at Tarelton, who had hung back and watched. Even he was wary of Tavington when he was in full swing. Both of the men's gazes were uncomfortable and full of regret. Then, Tavington marched out of Elizabeth's home with as much dignity as he could muster.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

As soon as Elizabeth was in the safe, private sanctum of her bedroom, she broke down. She curled up in a ball between her bed and the far wall, and wept as quietly as possible. It was a habit that she developed throughout her years in school. She hasn't really cried like this since high school either. William's words by themselves weren't that bad, one could say that she was used to it by now. But they have unwittingly awakened horrible feelings and thoughts from her youth that she's bottled up and kept dormant for years. But now that those emotions were finally unleashed from their prison...she suffers from them tenfold.

A tentative knock sounded on her door. She ignored it, knowing it was Banastre. She did _not_ want to talk to him right now. Not that she really had a choice though, because she heard the doorknob turn and his soft footsteps drawing closer. Of all the times to forget to lock the door! She didn't yell at him to leave though, or really acknowledge his presence at all. She just didn't care about anything but her losing inner battle with those nagging thoughts and annoying emotions conquering her mind.

He found her crouched down behind the bed. She made almost no noise, but from her trembling frame, he could tell she was weeping.

"Beth? I'm so dreadfully sorry... Colonel Tavington always did have a nasty temper, I'm sure he didn't mean any of it!"

Her head buried in her arms, she responded in a voice that was way more unsteady and pitiful than she preferred.

"It's okay, h-he's not the first. A-and he-- didn't say anything that w-wasn't true."

"What do you mean by that?" Banastre exclaimed in an aghast tone, kneeling next to her and stroking her shoulders and hair with one hand. She stayed silent. "Darling, I--"

" _You_ don't get--to c-call me that!" She suddenly snapped, chocked up in between sobs. She raised her tear stained face and her red eyes glared up at him. "If you really--thought anything of me you w-ouldnt've made a b-bet on seducing me!"

"I didn't mean to hurt you." He quietly murmured, trying to soothe her.

"No... I'm s-sure you didn't really--think about how it would affect me. You w-were going to le-eave afterwards too and...I can't handle that. I've been on my own for much of my life, I _can't_ handle having someone-- get _that_ close, that intimate with me...only to be left alo-one again shortly a-after." She said, although it wasn't meant just for the auburn haired man next to him.

Banastre's arm gathered her up in a side hug. She leaned into his body despite her anger, the contact was her only form of comfort. She still wept pitifully, staring down at the floor with her eyes glazed over with tears and despair.

"Oh Beth..." This isn't what he wanted at all! He didn't realize that she was so sensitive, nor did he think his seduction would have affected her so. But now that it was all said and done, perhaps he could still salvage some part of their relationship. He gently kissed the top of her head.

"Can you forgive me?" She shook her head.

"I don't wanna talk ab-bout it anymore while I'm still l-like this."

Tarleton gazed down at the floor and reluctantly nodded his head.

"Very well. I... I will leave you be then." He silently left her there and exited her room. It was a very rare occasion that his conscience nagged him. But of all the questionable things he's done, hurting this insecure girl was the action that caused guilt to crawl at his insides. He left the apartment altogether as well, the environment became too cold and tense for him to bear. Eventually he found himself standing in front of Doctor Smith's home, the only other person he knew in the modern age.

It took a long while after Banastre left for Beth to calm back down. Eventually the tears ran out, and with them went the rest of her energy. Feeling nothing but listlessness and exaustion, she curled up in a little ball under her bedcovers.

 **Wow, dark day at the Bradford house. I hope that this chapter didn't come off as melodramatic or too sudden. I tried to express the emotions and actions as realistically as possible while staying true to their characters. And yes, Elizabeth and William get along great... when he isn't pissed off beyond all reason. He really can get nasty... he shot a kid and burned the population of the entire village alive after all**!f


	18. The College Party

5:30

James and Richard were not doing so well either as it seems. After Banastre knocked and was invited in with a curt shout through the door, he found Tavington's subordinates sulking in two of the few spots to rest that weren't covered in clutter. When he followed their eyeline, he saw what they were so unhappy about. For on the tv was a political broadcast regarding the election campain of the next President of the United States. He stood back at the doorway, pretending to wipe lint off of his greencoat. (The men still donned their uniforms when they were at home. As silly as that seems, it was a bit of familiarity that they weren't willing to let go just yet.)

"Christ!" Wilkins cursed. "I can hardly the believe the madness of this age. I've been tolerant of everything else but this... Where else could a group of insolent, rebellious farmers with pitchforks get away with treason? Look at them!" He roared at an equally displeased Bordon while gesturing violently at the tv.

"Yes, I see them Captain!" Richard declared with annoyance. "The damned fools, willingly rebelling against their prosperous mother empire. And for what? I fail to see how either of those inadequate candidates could offer better leadership than the king of England, whoever he is at present." He shook his head bitterly.

"I take it the pair of you found out that this is no longer an English colony?" Banastre asked them. He was met with two displeased stares. "I suppose I'll take that as a yes."

"When exactly was anyone planning to tell us?" Major Bordon demanded, too upset to care about the way he addressed a superior officer. Banastre brushed off his tone.

"I knew you'd figure it out soon enough on your own. Where is Doctor Smith?"

"She went to go run an errand." Wilkins said. "If she were here I'd be showing her what for for conveniently _forgetting_ to tell us that we are residing in a nation of traitors." Tarleton sighed and reached for the remote, turning the program off.

"Well, there is nothing that can be done about it now, so I suppose you'll have to learn to live with it! Why I haven't seen faces so long ever since one night at the Cocoa Tree when they ran out of ale!" He sighed. He's quite seen enough sadness for the day. He silently rubbed his head, in a foul mood himself. Unfortunately, 'music' came on from an apartment near by, so loud that he couldn't hear himself think.

"What on earth--" Bordon got up and opened the door. The wild beats and singing became clearer. Whatever he saw outside made him forget all about his displeasure, his mouth and eyes gaped wide open in shock.

"What is it?" Wilkins stepped up behind him.

"Brrg...ughhh...Baagh??" The stupified Major couldn't form proper words, the only sounds that came out of him were incomprehensible groans. The two men crawled out on either side of him to get a look, feverishly whispering at each other like schoolboys.

There were several young people that could be seen in an open doorway across the hall. They were drinking, laughing, and dancing in the colorfully-lighted apartment. In the middle of the hallway was a couple leaning against the wall. They were liplocked in a very passionate embrace complete with moans and roaming hands. This in itself was shocking. Banastre had of course done this and far more, but never in the middle of a populated hallway! And, upon closer inspection, he could see that they were both ladies. A thin boy wearing a red, yellow, and green hat stepped out in front of them and addressed them in a relaxed, drawing voice.

"Hey, what's up neighbors? The name's Jeff. If we're too loud, let us know. Just _don't_ call the cops!"

The trio remained silent, almost identical baffled expressions were plastered on their faces.

"You guys look like you need to party." Jeff remarked.

Banastre slowly nodded. "Yes. Yes, we do."

And so they joined him, looking very out of place in their dragoon uniforms. The crowded apartment became silent, the young men and women initially regarded them with a mixture of curiosity and scorn.

Within the hour though, the party raged on as the boys intermingled with the college kids.

"YES!" Banastre loudly exclaimed as he successfully flung a hollow white ball into a glass of ale on a dining table. He had no idea what the point of this game was, but amidst the cheers of his witnesses and the rewards of drinking, all of his confusion as well as his cares from earlier were washed away. And so he progressively got livelier, and louder, so much that a very tipsy and still upset Bordon could hear him from his spot on the couch in a secluded room.

He rolled his eyes at the officer as he silently sat upon a grey cloth sofa, taking a short break from conversing. He much preferred his secluded area of the party. Although his new acquaintances were oddly lethargic, they seemed friendly enough. And peaceful, a nice change from what he was accustomed to. A thin, white cigar that they gave him perched in his mouth, emitting foul smelling smoke. It contained a type of 'weed,' apparently, that would serve as a sort of balm for his foul mood. The group of strangers thought that he needed it after hearing his wildly unbelievable time travel situation, and who was he to refuse?

"You still look down, dude." One of the boys directed a comment at him.

"I simply... I like progress, not the chaos that I've unfortunately been a witness of!"

Megan Liu, the girl that was sitting next to him, placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"That's really tough. I can't imagine traveling two hundred years in the future." She said in a daze. The smoke from everyone's cigars effected her quite strongly although she hasn't picked one up herself. "But you British guys don't have it so bad right now. Sure, you lost all of your territory except for that one island, but you got the Queen. She's cool. You got the Queen band too, and the Spice Girls, and the Beatles!"

"What?" He breathlessly asked before coughing a rather large amount of the foul smoke out of his body.

"She's really into old music. The point is, you're here now, in 2016." Garth, a boy with a huge mop of curly red hair and glasses that enlarged his eyes tenfold, jumped in. "Sometimes, you just gotta stand up and say 'fuck it' dude."

The Britishman nodded slowly.

"Fuck it..."

He felt so...unlike himself now. He couldn't explain what was happening to him, but it was not unpleasant. It felt like a weight was pulled off of his shoulders, and it was replaced with a floating sensation within him. A huge, extremely uncharacteristic grin spread across his face.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Back in the living room, Jeff got the attention of the crowd gathered.

"Hey, who else wants to do a keg stand?" He shouted. James stepped forward, removing his wool jacket and handing it to a nearby bystander.

"Before, I usually lived by one mantra: Act courteous to all, but intimate with few." He announced, his words slurring a bit. "But tonight my friends, I am intimate with all, and courteous to none!" The crowd whooped as some guys helped hold him upside down. He drank for ten seconds, he guessed. The crowd started to chant 'U.S.A.' over and over again. His vision grew blurry, his mind was swimming. Then, he was propped the right way up.

"You know, for a bunch of crass, impertinent, traitors, the lot of you aren't so bad! Here's to...making the most out of being stranded!" He exclaimed, and he surprisingly meant it. But perhaps it was mostly the amount of alcohol he just drank in less than a minute. His declaration was met with another round of drunken cheering.

Banastre laughed at him from his spot near the wall, his arm around the waist of the lady he's been charming. Michelle, an extremely beautiful young history student, giggled alongside him.

"So Ban... how about the two of us get out of here?"

"Yes...How about it?" That particular phrasing rolled awkwardly off of his tounge, put he delivered the answer with a pleased, cocky grin. The pair left the party arms linked together.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

9:30 pm.

Elizabeth woke up miserably and unceremoniously, to a fuming Amelia Smith. She all but dragged the smaller woman out of bed and into the living room. And what does she see? Bordon and Wilkins, drunkenly stumbling, giggling, and uttering nonsense.

"Those two were missing when I came back. I eventually found them mattress surfing down the stairs with drunk kids. Apparently they were at a college party."

"Oh god..." Elizabeth was so entirely done at this point. She stepped towards them. She stepped back and covered her nose when she got too close to Bordon, he smelled like he was sprayed by a skunk!

 _'At least they don't seem to be angry or violent drunks...'_

A good look at Wilkins told her that he was drunk out of his skull. He was giggling almost uncontrollably, stumbling over everything, and he kept trying to flirt with Amy. (At least, Elizabeth thought. His talking was so slurred that she couldn't understand what he was trying to say, but he also ended up gathering Ameila in an affectionate/clingy hug from behind much to her annoyance.)

Elizabeth sighed. "Well, we'll just have to deal with them when they are sober. Hey, Richard?"

Bordon's voice rang throughout the whole room as he began to argue with his own reflection in a decorative mirror. He turned his head towards her aimlessly.

"Could you please tell this fellow that he is stupid, as well as ugly? Because he is insolent enough to copy _my_ actions while I was merely trying to converse!" He swayed side to side a bit, his eyes were dilated and red. Her mouth gaped open.

"Okay, and you're high..."

"What do you mean woman, I am right here on the ground!"

Her face scrunched up, she was at a loss of what to do. When she heard Banastre shouting from the boy's room, she quickly rushed there. She opened the door and--

"God, Ban! Oh yes, yes, ah!"

Elizabeth saw all kinds of things that she didn't wanna see. A naked girl on top of Banastre, who was reclined in bed wearing only his boots, riding helmet, and open greencoat. That was an image that she will never be able to unsee. She closed the door almost as quickly as she had opened it. With a great sigh, Beth hung her head and closed her eyes.

"Amelia...could you please take those two back to your place?"

"They popped one of the air mattresses, by the way."

"Then make them rough it or something. Just get them out of here." Elizabeth quickly retired to her bedroom without another word.

"Mmm..." Wilkins was still kind of clinging to Amelia with his arms around her waist now. But he went no further with her. Apparently whenever he was intoxicated he turned into a cuddly puppy type. It was quite harmless behavior, but still not at all appreciated by Amy. She was used to being in close physical proximity with him yes, but it was always out of necessity and not affection. He buried his face in the crook of her shoulder, not able to see that her mouth turned into a thin line.

"Maybe you and I could share, just like in the carriage..." Amelia, having quite enough, made him let go with a sharp elbow to his ribs.

"You're definitely sharing a bed, but not with me." She pointed at Bordon, who was limply reclining on the couch, staring at the ceiling with a dazed expression and a big open grin on his face. He was like a dead weight, it took her quite a few great shoves to get him up again.

"Let's just go."

 **Man these boys know how to get into trouble! And where the heck is Tavvie? Just bear with me you guys!**


	19. Aftermath

**Hello, I'm back! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while-- for me, school started on the 1st, and things got kinda busy. I'm also sorry to HyacinthQueen13 that I didn't address your question in the previous chapter. (My phone didn't show your review until sometime after I published it, arrgh!) But all the boys still have their queues. They are still kind of clinging to whatever is still the same, which is why they wear their uniforms around the apartments and why they haven't cut their hair yet. I don't think they will cut anytime soon either, but they may eventually start a trend in the college lol. And as for those of you who wanted to know where William went... I was just wondering that myself, to be honest! We should probably check on him.**

8:30 pm

William marched through the streets, trying to clear his head. However, he could think of nothing but Elizabeth and his own growing guilt. This was the second time in his entire life he felt the presence of remorse gnawing at his insides. And it was for a girl that he barely knew. He didn't understand. The dragoon from a week ago would have done or said whatever he wanted to anyone without even a trace of guilt.

 _'This age is making me soft. That's all.'_

William scoffed, then the image of Elizabeth's face fighting back tears came back. It was engrained in his mind by now. So were the cruel words that he had spoken to her.

 _'She is alone and unloved, but so am I. She was the only person who has ever shown me kindness, and I foolishly pushed her away because of my temper and pride.'_

He kept marching, looking up at the sky now. It was a clear night, but the stars were far duller now. That only served to add to his feelings of loss and unfamiliarity. As well as isolation. This sentiment was not new to him, not by far, yet he never felt the need to confront it before. Ah well, he supposed that it was too late now. Forcing his eyes back to the ground, he decided to go back and stop by the home of Doctor Smith. He felt like he wasn't welcome where he has been staying anymore, and Miss Smith is the only other person from this time that he knows.

When he got there it was quite late, but from the sound of voices and laughter he could tell that his men were still awake. He knocked on the door and the thin woman answered. She looked far neater in appearance than she normally did, but she appeared to have a very displeased expression. He was in too foul a mood himself to inquire however.

"Good day Miss Smith. May I come in?" He asked her in a forced, polite tone. She nodded, and opened the door further. He walked into the living room, taking notice of the various machines and strange decorations that it contained. If it wasn't for the furniture, he could have mistaken it for a laboratory. And in the midst of everything was his usually disiplined second and third sitting at a table, behaving like loud, drunken children. This of course worsened his mood.

"Bordon, Wilkins!" He snapped. As intoxicated as they were, they still managed to stop and stand at attention. Although Wilkins was swaying like a ship and Bordon reacted very slowly... it would have to do. Now that they were quiet, he let out a great sigh and left them that way.

"What brings you here?" William briefly looked up at Amelia.

"I need somewhere to spend the night. I have the feeling I am not welcome at Miss Bradford's home anymore." Miss Smith studied him the same way she would study written data.

"I see. You can stay here until we can get you back to your time. I hope whatever happened is cleared up soon."

It most likely would not, but he said no more about it. What he did do however, was roughly order the men to turn in for the night and threaten that there would be hell to pay if he so much as heard a peep out of them. They immediately did so, fear really does work wonders sometimes. He was met with a grateful and relieved glance from Doctor Smith before she retired to her room. Her little pet machine, unnoticed by him before, sort of trailed after the woman like a canine. With a great sigh, he shoved a pile of clutter off of the sofa and lay on top of the lumpy surface.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Eventually, Elizabeth finally managed to fall back into a fitful sleep after tossing and turning unendingly. Her unconsious state didn't exactly let her escape though.

 _Elizabeth sat at a desk in her high school biology classroom, listening to her teacher's lecture. She was a teenager again, with her oversized glasses, acne-covered face, mismatched clothing and uncooperative hair that hung very unattractively all over her head. The only thing that hasn't changed much was her figure, which was quite chubby despite her involvement in the 'lame' marching band._

" _Now, who can tell me the difference between meiosis and mitosis?" The teacher smiled at her._

 _"Elizabeth?" The girl panicked. She knew the answer of course, but the words remained stuck in her throat. One moment of hesitation turned into several, her mind blanked as her confidence muted underneath the sound of the kids whispering all around her._

 _"Mitosis is--uh..."_

 _The group behind her started snickering. She turned red._

 _"Mitosis is the... the process of--"_

"S _PEAK UP!" A boy cupped his hands and shouted from across the room._ _The class burst out laughing. She shifted uncomfortably. The teacher only prompted her to continue._

 _It took her five minutes to stammer out an answer that would normally take less than a minute. This was normal though, unfortunately._

 _The teacher continued her lecture, ignoring the other kids. Elizabeth forced herself to stare forward at the board with a blank face, although she wanted to hide it in her hands. She could hear a group of girls behind her whispering._

" _Oh my god, for a know-it-all she's really stupid! She can't even get a few words out right."_

 _"Totally! And she should fix up her face with plastic surgery, stop eating so much, and get rid of those glasses and Star Wars t-shirts if she doesn't want to die alone!"_

 _The bell rang and she rushed out of there. She did her best to hurry--she was always treated worse out in the hall. For instance, a huge boy appeared from behind her, knocked her stuff out of her hand and shoved her down to the floor just before she was able to reach her next class. Tears of pain formed in her eyes and she clutched her nose; blood started to seep out of it. She glanced up at the perpetrator, and she saw that instead of a classmate, it was William cruelly sneering down at him._

 _T_ _he group of girls sashayed out of the biology classroom to find their target still prone. One of them grabbed Elizabeth's binder, looked through it, and grabbed a six page essay that was due next period. With an evil grin, she ripped it up while Elizabeth struggled against William, who was holding her down on the floor._

With a gasp Elizabeth sat up in her bed. Just a dream/flashback. She put on her glasses, and looked at her alarm clock. 5:30 am. Well, it was better than no rest at all. Not that she really felt any different. Still, she found herself unable to return to sleep and eventually gave up.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

8:30 am, Saturday

Eventually, Banastre was up and about. He awoke in a very comical position, spread-eagled over the covers, completely bare except for his helmet that fell to one side of his head. Why did he have that on anyway?... Oh yes, his companion from last night wanted him to keep wearing part of his uniform while they-- He quickly scanned the area around him and found that his... partner must have left at some point while he was asleep.

He lazily dressed in a dark blue button up, a snug pair of black jeans, and his riding boots. He studied himself in the mirror, primping to make him irresistible to almost any lady. Most particularly, Elizabeth. Although he realized that she was likely still upset, perhaps he might be able to charm her back into good favor; now that William was out of the way, he might even succeed in winning her heart!

After some time he was finally satisfied, he stepped out and ventured out. He found that Elizabeth was in the dining area. She didn't seem to notice him standing there for the time being, so he used it as an opportunity to admire her appearance. Her hair was messily tied up into a bun, she was dressed in a light gray pair of those tight trousers he loved, a black, white and blue geometric patterned shirt, and lime green shoes and jacket. However, he observed that she did not seem well this morning. She was absolutely still, only gazing down at her barely nursed mug of coffee. Her eyes were red, with dark circles under them.

Banastre cleared his throat politely to let her know he was present. She slowly looked up at him, with a sort of glazed, exausted look in her eye. Did that woman ever rest?

"Good morning." He started. "Did you, ah, sleep well my dear?" She slowly took a sip of her drink before answering.

"Fine... I'm just finishing my coffee, before I go to my laboratory."

"I'm sorry? I may be mistaken, but I am quite certain you've mentioned you are not working today!"

"Officially, I'm not supposed to be. But what my boss doesn't know... And well, I still have a lot of work to do if I want to get you home sometime before you die of old age." Beth said in a cold, low monotone. She abandoned her mug on the table and stood up.

He blocked her from the direction of the exit and sputtered as he tried to think of what to say. He's never been struggling for words before!

"Is-- this about the events from last evening?"

"Not at all. None of that really matters in the grand scheme of things, does it? The feelings of the individual are insignificant in this huge, cold space of infinite galaxies, infinite stars, infinite planets we live in."

Ban scoffed, taken aback at her oddly cryptic, nonsensical words. He noticed her swaying, as if she were about to faint. He grabbed her under the shoulders and supported her.

"Beth, you are clearly too exhausted to go anywhere now! Please, I implore you to get some rest." He said in a firm, demanding voice.

She wriggled out of his grasp and became quite irate, with tensed muscles and her best attempt at a glare. Of course, she appeared much more comical than she likely intended.

"What, first of all you bet 5 pounds over me- I'm pretty sure I'm worth just a bit more than that, by the way! Then you like move on not even a few hours after I find out, with some random stranger-- I saw her, and you very _loudly_ expressed your appreciation of her 'company' for much of the night, so don't try to deny it!"

His mouth, which was opened in protest, promptly closed.

"And now you think you can order me around or something? Well... FFfffight me!" Still swaying, she held two fists up at him. He sighed, unimpressed.

"You have demanded that so often with no consequence that it appears to have lost all meaning. Come now, you are acting like a child!"

"Your _face_ looks like a child's!"

He closed his eyes and shook his head, feeling his headache return to annoy him. He said no more to her though, but before he opened his eyes he heard the front door open and slam shut. Clearly she was not well, her behavior grew more erratic this morning than before! But he did not chase after her this time. After all, Banastre was many things, but he was never patient. And what little patience he did possess has worn out.


	20. Apologies and Recoveries

**Thank you so much for your reviews, and for wishing me luck in my classes too! Thankfully they aren't difficult at all so fa** **r, which allows me to focus a bit on this story!**

Wednesday, 7:00 pm

Amelia marched into her apartment, fuming. She spotted Tavington sitting at the table in the dining room, quietly ignoring the nearby chatter from his men. She quickly stepped in front of him, his only reaction was a raise of the eyebrows.

"I need you to apologize to Elizabeth." She simply said.

"I don't believe that what happens between her and I is any of your business." He cooly responded. It wasn't that he did not want to reconcile with her, it was perhaps the only thing that he has thought about these past few days! However, he figured that she would not hear any of it, and quite frankly, it's quite a challenge for him to swallow his pride and admit that he was wrong. Anyway, Doctor Smith has no right to interfere!

"It concerns me when it affects my relationship with her! I don't know what you did, but she's been holed up in the science department building since Monday, maybe before that! She's just obsessing over time travel, of course not very productively since she hasn't really been taking care of herself! She's not sleeping or eating real food... She won't listen to me, I brought Tarleton up there and she didn't listen to him either!"

He bristled when he heard her mention Ban's name.

"Honestly, I don't care what exactly happened between you two! But you hurt my friend, and you are the only one who can try to fix it so that Elizabeth will go home and take care of herself again! And this is not a request!"

Several moments of dead silence passed. Even his subordinates in the room nearby stopped oogling Penny and Bernadette on the television to warily look on. He met their gazes, both filled with cautious fear and judgement. Then one at a time they averted their eyes downward. William sighed. They have both seen him do far worse, and in fact have done far worse by his order! But, he supposed that they have always felt this way about him. He simply didn't care enough to notice before. This can no longer go on. He calmly stood up and regarded the thin scientist.

"Very well. Take me to her."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

William reluctantly entered the laboratory, all the while Amelia practically bored holes into the back of his head. Papers and books were strewn all over every flat surface in there, seemingly tossed about in frustration. Empty bottles and snack wrappers from the vending machines nearby overflowed in a rubbish bin kept in a corner. And in the midst of the chaos, was Elizabeth herself. She perched precariously on a metal stool as her trembling left hand frantically scribbled one equation on a whiteboard, over and over again. Her sunken eyes shifted all around her wildly, although she was too trapped in her mind to notice her guests. Then, on a whim, she flung herself off of the seat and started to pace while muttering to herself in frustration. He could only stare, taken back as he watched her quietly rant, her hands wildly gesturing in front of her.

"Fuck, Fuck, fuckfuckFUCK!! It doesn't work _with_ the exponent in velocity, it doesn't work without... And then there's the stationary time variable! There must--be--a way!"

Elizabeth growled; yes, _growled_ , in frustration. Then she became quiet as she obsessively combed through the many notes piled on her desk, tossing them one by one on the floor. She looked awful. Her now greasy hair clung in tangles all over her head. Her skin was pallid, and she figeted about restlessly while she obsessed over her work. He kept his face carefully blank, hiding the shame he felt.

"Hey Elizabeth..." Amelia carefully responded, as if she were talking to a frightened child. The other girl only turned her head slightly towards them in acknowledgement.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm trying to figure out _where_ in this _SWAMP_ of unbalanced variables, squats the toad of truth..." She shouted, stumbling back to the stool and unstably perching on it once again.

"Okay... When is the last time you slept?"

"I don't know, two, three days? It doesn't matter. I don't need sleep... I need answers!"

"Uh-huh. Well... _Tavington_ \--" She nudged him with her elbow, his signal to step forward. "--has something he would like to say to you."

He cautiously walked in front of her and looked into her glazed gunpowder eyes.

"I... I came here to apologize for my behavior less than a week ago."

She only squinted at him for a few moments; Her sleep deprived mind muddled and distorted her thought process, to it took that long to come up with a response.

"...Why?... What you said about me was in fact correct. It was exactly what you think about me, exactly what I've thought about myself for as long as I can remember. My own feelings about it are irrelevant, because it must be the truth. No, the only thing that matters about me is the work that I leave behind." She stood up and started to look for her dry erase marker. Forgetting that she had just stuffed it in her back pocket, she slapped her hips in frustration and slid off the stool to get another. He blocked her path, causing her to collide with his chest. Elizabeth stumbled back, but William grabbed the sides of her shoulders and held her upright.

"Elizabeth, I didn't mean any of it!" He spoke in earnest now, finally swallowing his pride. "There is no excuse for my behavior, or for the wager, it was foolish of me. You must know that I regret all of it. There is much more to you than you appear to believe. You must not think so little of yourself!"

This admittance only confused her, especially when her muddled mind tried to process it. She laughed, for seemingly no reason.

"Heh. Funny, that last part is exactly what Amelia, Banastre, and Tiny Spock said."

Doctor Smith furrowed her brow.

"Tiny Spock?"

Elizabeth pointed at a spot on one shelf, more specifically, a box that contained a little figurine of a man with black trousers, a blue shirt, and pointed ears. Tavington recognized it as Spock from the cover of a book he was looking through earlier.

"I keep him here for good luck. Yesterday he came to life and journeyed all the way to the top of my desk just to tell me that my recent behavior is 'unhealthy' and 'illogical.' I crammed him right back in his box for that... Then I was visited by a Dalek. Spock was much more pleasant company though, at least he had a bigger vocabulary than the word exterminate!"

William closed his eyes with a great sigh.

"Right. I believe that it is time for you to go home now."

"But I'm still working." She murmured, having to lean on the desk since she was standing for too long. William marched to her and picked her up bridal style. She yelped and tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but he was too strong and she too drained to fight back.

"Not in your current state." Was his only response as he held her against his chest. The scientist's body slowly relaxed despite herself, the warmth and security this position provided her proved to be the thing that finally did her in. By the time the trio almost reached the exit if the building, she was sound asleep with her head resting upon his shoulder.

"She really doesn't good good at all." Amy muttered to herself, walking closer to the laden man to assess the damage. The thin woman wrinkled her nose. "She doesn't smell so good either."

"Perhaps not. But I have been the witness of much worse before."

They went outside. The sky was dark, water poured down, and lightning struck every so often. William made sure to carry Elizabeth quickly to the car before she got soaked.

Amelia opened the back door for him. He settled in, placing the slumbering girl down in the seat next to him.

"Hey Tavington?" Doctor Smith called from the driver's place after she started to drive off.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you. For agreeing to help Elizabeth, I mean. She's really the only friend that I have, and I don't want to see her like this again. Please... don't hurt her."

The woman shuffled closer to him, her head rested upon his shoulder. William gazed down at her. Despite her disheveled appearance, she looked peaceful in her sleep, almost angelic even. She shivered a bit in the cool air, and William pulled her ever closer. Although he was wet as well, he seemed to provide enough warmth to satisfy her. Tavington allowed himself to smile just a little bit.

"I do not intend to ever again."

Now, he realized that she was not _all there_ when he came to see her. He realized now that he had, however unwittingly, opened old wounds. He knew there was a likely possibility that after she recovered, she would not let him make amends. But for once, he was hopeful. Because, for once, he has the chance to earn forgiveness.


	21. Reconciliation

Thursday, 8:30 am

Banastre slowly mounted the steps of the apartment building, feeling quite horrible indeed. His mind was still reeling from the events not even a half-hour ago.

 _He awoke in Michelle's bed, tangled up in her sheets. Sunlight began to shine through the blinds in stripes across his spread out figure. This was not the first time he found himself there. Banastre has been coupling with the woman almost every night since his fallout with Elizabeth; it helped him forget his guilt, at least for a little bit._

 _Nearby, the girl stood upright and quickly dressed before him. He rolled over on his side and watched her cover up the tantalizing flesh that was marred with marks from his mouth. She looked very much like Elizabeth. The only differences that he noticed immediately was Michelle's skin; it was a signifigantly darker tone, as if she went outside very often. Her eyes were a different color as well, when he looked inside of them instead of Elizabeth's calculating steel blue gaze, he was met with warm brown eyes that nearly matched his own. That was a difference that Tarleton quite appreciated, really._

 _"Good Morning." He lazily smiled up at her._

" _Hi." She rushed out the response as she pulled her shirt over her head, concealing the tiny purple undergarment that covered her voluminous breasts. He has really grown to love modern women's fashion. His grin widened as he sat up in the bed and started to go into a flourishing speech; the same monolougue that he had performed and perfected for every single one of his mistresses._

 _"Michelle, I may be a fool for saying this... and you would be wise to think me so. But these past few nights were the happiest that I could remember. I have never known... love... such as yours, and--"_

 _It was then that he noticed that his speech barely affected her. She only continued to dress, the only signs that she was listening were a few guilt-filled glances from the side of her eye. Then she finally rolled them when she heard the word 'love.' He furrowed his brow in confusion._

 _"I shall not bother you with that now, darling, I can see that you have somewhere else to be." Although he was disappointed and perplexed, it wouldn't help to act rude to her. Instead, he stood up and took her hand, his bare body shamelessly exposed before her._

 _"When can I see you again, my love?"_ _He detected an incredulous glint in her eye as she gazed upon him, she was fully dressed now. Her reaction felt like a bucket of cold water splashed upon his face._

 _"If I may say the word?" She shook her head._

" _You really shouldn't... look, you're a really nice guy, and these past few days were fun. Just fun. That's it. Neither of us wanted it to be more than that, remember?"_

 _"I realize we agreed upon that sort of relationship when we first met, yes. What if I have changed my mind?" Tarleton demanded._

 _"I know that's not true. You're still hung up on someone else, Banastre. Someone named Elizabeth. I know that because our first night you kept calling me that. And anyway, I still haven't changed my mind and I likely won't. But if you can't handle it, then it might be best if we just separated then."_

 _He just stood there speechless and dejected, like a dog with his tail in between his legs._

 _"I'm really sorry." Michelle whispered, her gaze filled with sympathy._ _"I--I have to start heading for class now, and I'd like you to get out too so I can lock the door."_

Banastre hung his head at the memory now. He knew he was being foolish, after all he never intended to form a real relationship with Michelle! However, he couldn't help feeling some sort of attachment towards her now. Perhaps it was because she reminded him of Elizabeth, or only because she rejected him. Well yes, she rejected him of all people! To her, he was no more than a--than a doxy. Just like the ones that he has bedded for a time and then discarded just as he has been this morning. When they were sent away, did they all become as melancholy as he currently felt?

Soon the defeated officer found himself at the doorstep of Elizabeth's apartment. The door was unlocked, so he entered. The first thing he noticed was that Elizabeth's keys rested upon the stand nearby. It was about time she has returned. He started to search the living room, the kitchen and dining room for her. Then he reached the hallway when he witnessed a sight that made his disappointment return full force-- Tavington silently exiting Beth's bedroom. The larger officer didn't seem to notice Ban; he peeped back into her room and watched her sleeping form with an uncharacteristically gentle gaze, before his face hardened again when he spotted the greencoat. Tavington quickly closed the door to block the other man's view.

"Colonel Tarleton." He addressed him with a very cold, clipped tone.

"Colonel Tavington." He responded, equally distant. "I... see that Elizabeth has returned."

One of Tavington's eyebrows rose at his statement, he glanced back at the closed doorway that led into Elizabeth's room before returning his attention to the smaller man.

"Yes... She is resting now. I suggest that you do not disturb her."

Banastre scowled at him, causing one side of Tavington's mouth to curl upwards in a taunting, lopsided smirk. The redcoat started to saunter away, but he turned his head behind him when he stepped in the living room; he had a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Oh, and I believe that you owe me five pounds." He chuckled and turned away. It wasn't in fact true that he had been intimate with her... But he could not resist, and the look on Banastre's face was priceless; halfway between a vengeful scowl and a boyish pout.

"Very well." The greencoat sighed in defeat and retired to his own bed. Although it was far too late in the morning to go back to sleep, he was absolutely miserable. He felt that he was going to die right there in that horrible inflatable bed, from both his own emotions and the nagging soreness of his back and the spots where his fingers used to be. Was he being melodramatic? Probably a bit, but he was beyond caring at this point.

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9:46 am

Elizabeth slept all night and much of the morning. She dreamt of men on horses, plastic Vulcans, and what must have been hundreds of farfetched ways that her laboratory could be destroyed; courtesy of Klingons, Daleks, Voldemort, machine uprisings, Jack Sparrow's crew, and Kylo Ren's temper tantrums. Like most dreams tend to do however, they passed by quickly and were replaced with her senses.

It was an unusually cold morning for October; more storms were definitely on the way. She smelled food, particularly bacon. She heard William's soft voice, and felt his hand gently shaking her shoulder, both trying to coax her back into the conscious world. She opened her eyes and was met with his gaze. He sat upon one side of the bed, silently scrutinizing her with concern. Then he glanced downward in an almost shy manner, and placed a plate of food on the nightstand next to her bed.

"I-- I thought that you might be hungry, so I have taken the liberty of using your electric stove. I hope you do not mind."

Elizabeth looked down at the plate, the corners of her mouth tugging upwards. Clearly he gauged the amount of food to prepare by his own appetite; the plate was absolutely piled with scrambled eggs, buttered pancakes, and bacon. She quickly sat up and tentatively took the plate. Of course, since the woman hasn't eaten much recently, she devoured it rather quickly.

"Thank you." She quietly mumbled after she finished the final bite of the pancakes. They were surprisingly... perfect. William clearly took care to follow each and every direction on the box to the letter.

"There is no need. I was expecting all to disappear if I turned my head for only a moment. I do not believe that you have had a proper meal in days."

Elizabeth blushed and chucked breathlessly, remembering the state she was in last evening.

"Yeah... I'm sorry that you saw me like that, by the way. I'd like to state for the record that I very rarely stay in my lab all hours of the day and drive myself crazy. I'm sure it doesn't help what others think of me..." She trailed off, immediately sobering when she remembered what he clearly expressed about her quirks. William shifted a bit closer to her and put his hand upon her shoulder, temporarily ignoring the impropriety of his position.

"Elizabeth, it's alright. I have thought no less of you when I walked into that laboratory last evening, and I still stand by my apology. You never deserved such harsh treatment from me. Or from yourself, as a matter of fact. You are without a doubt the most fascinating, intelligent women that I have ever met. That is why I enjoy your company." He spoke with complete sincerity, causing Elizabeth's eyes to bug out in astonishment. That was one of the nicest things that anyone's ever said to her, and it came out of a guy that-- just last night-- witnessed her at her very worst; Quite frankly, she was shocked that her unstable mannerisms, her hallucinations, or the junk food stains on her clothes didn't scare him off.

Unfortunately, he took her silence and her expression a different way and humility filled him.

"Of course, you do not have to accept my apology, I simply wished to offer it" He quickly stood up, but she grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Yes. I accept your apology. Not only that, but I forgive you." He met her eyes now, to find that she was sincere.

"Do you mind giving me an explanation though?" He shook his head.

"I cannot give you a valid excuse for my behavior, because there is none. I simply let my temper get the best of me. I foolishly lashed out at the only person who dared to care for me." He softly muttered with self loathing. Elizabeth stood up to meet him, and took his hand. It was tough, with callouses from years of battle and work. It was also warm, especially compared to her usually freezing hands.

"Hey, you made a mistake. You want to talk about saying things you'll regret later? You're talking to the right person." She made a face and raised her other hand. William smirked, holding back a chuckle.

"We can't pretend it never happened, but we can leave this whole thing behind us and take it as an opportunity to start over. What do you think?"

"I think I would like to start over."

"So would I." Elizabeth awkwardly gave him a mock bow.

"Hello, my name is Doctor Elizabeth Bradford." She said, giggling. William snickered, then took her hand and kissed the back of her knuckles. He smiled more when he looked up at her face and saw that he made her turn a light shade of pink.

"How do you do? I am Colonel William Tavington, commander of the green dragoons." He said, offering his arm for her to take. She did, and they walked towards the door. He opened it, allowing her to go first.

"Doctor Bradford?" He tested her title and name. "Mmm, it certainly has a better ring than Miss, wouldn't you say?"

"It does, just as much as Colonel Tavington instead of Mister." Elizabeth shot him a huge grin-- incredibly rare for her-- and all but skipped into the bathroom. Although she was still worn out and dirty, she never felt better than when she realized that Tavington actually cared about her; and he the same way because he has managed to reconcile.


	22. The Mishap

Thursday, November 4th, 2016

5:30 am

It had been more than a month since the dragoons appeared in the 21st century. Elizabeth and William were inseperable by now, they spent nearly every waking hour together. The pair were in her laboratory as usual, talking and joking with each other while she finished up some work. Elizabeth put her notes as neatly as possible (for her!) inside of her bookbag, and then led him out of the laboratory. A huge animated grin spread across her face, and she suddenly lit up with childlike excitement as she watched him shut the door behind them. He rose one brow in a mixture of amusement and dread. He knew what that look on her face meant.

"I just remembered that there's something really cool I'd like to show you! Come on!" She said as she took his hand and led him down the hall.

William scoffed, his suspicions confirmed.

"I certainly hope that it does not involve lightning or metal coils this time." He replied in a very pointed, firm voice.

Elizabeth chuckled despite herself. Last week she and Amy finally figured out the math for time travel, and over the past few days they have experimented with different ways to generate enough power to apply the theory. Their most recent experiments were with high powered Tesla coils that the girls created, and on Halloween Elizabeth thought it would be cool if she showed William what they did. It did not go so well. But in her defense, he seemed quite fascinated despite the first few minutes of his initial panic!

"No more Tesla coils, I promise." She had something even better for him, and much more calming. In between the Plasma debacle, Halloween itself, and the disturbing 'killer clown' epidemic (don't ask!), she figured that he kind of needed to relax a bit.

"What if I told you that I could show you the night sky, or any other celestial body, right now?" She asked when they stopped at the far end of the science building. She stood in front of a set of double doors, that led to a 'planetarium' according to the posted sign.

William huffed a short laugh, then gazed at her in astonishment.

"I would say that you are a madwoman and that your ambitions to move the sky would be met with my derision." He declared with a lopsided smirk "But I suppose in this age, anything may well be possible for all I know."

Elizabeth opened one door and they both walked through a huge, round, dim room. It, like most other things that he has encountered in the modern age, was nothing like he had ever seen before. Rows of seats surrounded the perimeter like a theatre in the round, although they were all at an odd angle and pointed towards a domed ceiling. He and Elizabeth were the only two present, so it was completely silent there except for ambient, interstellar music that played in the background.

"Just take a seat somewhere. I'll start what I wanted to show you and then I'll join you." She stepped into the control room at the east side of the planetarium and started her favorite program. The room began to darken as a simulated sun set, which aestetically almost compared to the real thing.

Elizabeth quickly found Will and sat next to him before it got too dark. He was completely relaxed, a rare sight for him, and he simply gazed up at the 'sunset' in awe. She took some time to simply stare at him, admire his features in profile until all light disappeared. The 'sun' disappeared and was soon replaced with the night sky in all its glory. No city noise, no light pollution, not even the moon. Just the stars, the planets, and the man and woman who equally admired them.

"Beautiful. You really can move the sky, at least in here."

"I've moved it many times too. It's much better than the real thing with all the city lights around."

"Mmm. I see that. I have spent many nights trying to witness the beauty of the stars. Unfortunately, from the roof I can only see the moon, and Orion. One warrior greeting another, I suppose." Elizabeth detected bitterness at that last sentence, and turned her head to glance at him. She couldn't see his face, but she didn't really have to.

"Yet another thing that has changed now. You must really miss it back home..."

"Strangely, not as much. At times I miss the simplicity, but there is a sort of freedom now that I did not have then. The freedom to live however I want."

Elizabeth nodded, and stared back ahead at the 'stars.'

"And what would you like to do?"

She heard him shuffle in his seat a bit.

"Believe it or not I wanted to be a scholar. I wished to study nature, to understand how the world worked. My father however, believed that my place was not among the academics. I could not pay for university anyway, with how quickly he has gambled away my inheritance. Then after he died... I had to survive somehow."

"So you joined the army?"

"Yes." He answered, reluctantly. "But I would rather not discuss the years that followed."

Elizabeth understood, or rather she believed that she did. She couldn't ask him to recount his firsthand experiences of such an ugly thing as war. Little did she know that he was tormented not by his violent encounters, but by his own actions. Elizabeth was met with several minutes of silence, so she eventually changed the subject.

"Uh... did you finish reading A Brief History of Time?"

"I have, actually. It was quite fascinating. I never would have before thought of time as another dimension in space. I have always assumed that it was more like a river. Always flowing forward, sweeping everything right along with it. If that were true however, I suppose I would not be here." Elizabeth nodded.

"I used to think the same thing. Until I got ahold of some of Hawking's works. Ever since I was a kid, I always kind of looked up to him."

"Is that so? Why him of all people?"

"It's just...the answer is kind of personal. Can I trust you?"

"You may confide in me, my dear." Elizabeth fiddled with her glasses.

"Okay, well... First of all, I've always been--obsessed, for lack of a better word-- with science. And when I was younger I had trouble fitting in, talking to people, so I was a loner. My place in the world was uncertain..."

"And?" William gently urged her on.

"...Until I discovered some of the geniuses from the past and present. When I looked at Hawking, or Neil Degrass Tyson, or Bill Nye, it helped get me through my own struggles. I mean, Hawking was diagnosed with ALS when he was twenty-one. He was told that his life expectancy would be only a few years. That was back in the 1960's. Now he's 74, and still changing the way we think about the universe. He defied the odds, so I too."

William nodded in understanding and shuffled some more in his seat. His right arm streched out to his side, finding its way on Elizabeth's seat, just over her shoulders. William quickly retracted it as soon as he realized, hoping that she did not notice.

"You can keep it there if that makes you comfortable William. I don't mind."

Now because of the program she chose, the night sky was replaced with an image of the carina nebula. The simulation lit up William's face just enough for Elizabeth to see his trademark smirk and his eyebrow risen to challenge her. As if to make a point, he dramatically swung his arm up and over her head, placing it directly on her shoulders instead of above. That was not expected, but neither was her reaction; she relaxed and even snuggled into him a bit. William seemed to have a very calming effect on her for some reason, she just felt very comfortable around him.

Elizabeth tried to keep her face blank, but failed as a huge grin spread across her face. William smiled as well, a wave of affection for her occupied his emotions.

Neither of them knew how long they remained like that. It was pure bliss for both, admiring the artificial sky and each other. Eventually it had to come to an end, when an alarm on the woman's phone rang. She groaned aloud, eliciting a few chuckles from William.

"Professor Roffman's 'curfew.' I have to go get Amy."

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Elizabeth reluctantly ended the program, and left the planetarium as she slowly adjusted to the light. The 'curfew' she was referring to was a fairly new development. Both Amelia and herself have to be out of the science department building by 6:00 every evening. It came to become a rule because of her own actions a few weeks ago, that she came to refer to as 'The Tiny Spock Episode.'

Elizabeth jogged down the hallway, William not far behind, and finally reached her laboratory. She knocked at the door. There was no answer. She turned the unlocked handle, cautiously opening it and walked into the lab.

"Amy, are you in here? I just needed to get--ah! AAAAhhh!!!" She screamed and collapsed as an electrified metal net landed on her from the ceiling. The sound of sparks were loud, so was the clinking of steel netting as she spasmed and writhed uncontrollably on the cold tile floor. She felt a burning sort of pain all over her body, but the only thing she could do was whimper in pain. Amelia ran from the back of the room.

"Elizabeth! What are you doing here? I put the danger sign up."

"No--you, didn't! You--forgot." Elizabeth's speech was forced and broken in between spasms. A few tears started pour down her face, feeling like she was burned and scratched all over.

"Oh god no! Not again, this can't happen again!" Amelia cried in hysteria as she rushed to turn off the net. The smaller woman lay limp on the floor, her muscles trembling and practically melted into the ground.

William rushed into the room, in a panic. He looked down at the scientist in shock and badly concealed worry. He kneeled and pulled the metal webbing off of her.

"Elizabeth? Are you alright?" He gently grabbed her shoulders and pulled her upper body on his chest.

"I'll be okay. I was electrocuted. This is why I don't often leave Amy alone all day with dangerous stuff." She murmured weakly to the man that was more or less cradling her, then she directed her attention to the other woman. "Why do you have that thing here, anyway?"

"I was thinking that I could generate enough energy needed to make the quantum leap using a large electrified field that could be easily manipulated."

"And for whatever reason, you saw fit to suspend it from the ceiling?"

"Yes. I knew it would be dangerous, that's why I didn't bring the others here. I'm so sorry!"

"Ugh..." She weakly shook her head and tried to stand. She continued to spasm however, and William caught her before she hit the floor. He slid one hand under her back and the other under her knees, picking her up bridal style. He shot Amy a look over his shoulder that he usually reserved for enemies in battle. It made her wither like a guilty puppy.

"Let's get you out of here, before something else happens to you." Elizabeth nodded, somehow managing to wrap her trembling arms around his neck and her head rested on one shoulder. Then her body was limp again.

"Elizabeth?" Will's brow furrowed deeply. He shook her. She didn't respond at all, he observed. Her head hung the away from his chest now and her arms fell down to dangle in the air. She was a limp, lifeless rag doll.

"Where is the infirmary?" He demanded in a harsh tone. Amy told him the directions to the nurses office so quickly she didn't even breathe, and William rushed there with an unconscious Elizabeth in his arms.

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The blonde woman wearily woke up to a bright light shining in her face.

"Can you hear me?"

She blearily opened her eyes, looking at a blurry figure standing above her head, holding the bright light into her right eye. She held up one finger, waving it inches from her face, so that she could see it without her glasses.

"Look at the finger." She silently obeyed. The nurse switched to her left eye, and waved her finger more.

"What is your name?"

"Elizabeth Bradford." She answered, noticing how croaky and weak her voice was.

"Who is the President of the United States?"

"Barack Obama."

"Good. No apparent delirium." Elizabeth looked around her, squinting her eyes. She was laying in a hospital bed, she heard the beeping from the machine that kept track of her vital signs. From what she could see, the nurse was an older woman in blue scrubs and a there was a doctor nearby in a white lab coat.

"How long was I out?"

"Oh, not that long. About an hour after you were admitted in here. You withstood a high voltage electrical shock." The doctor said. Elizabeth was confused, then the events from earlier came back to her. Amy's net landed on her, she was in pain, she couldn't move, and then William...

"It's going to be about two hours before you can be released, however. We are going to keep you under observation, to make sure you don't go under cardiac arrest." The doctor said, then promptly left.

"Okay. Do you have my glasses?" Elizabeth asked the nurse. She handed her her black and dark blue lenses.

"Thanks." She put them on, disappointed to find that the Colonel was nowhere in sight.

"The man that brought you here is in the waiting room. We had to drag him out of here." Elizabeth felt better.

"Is he your boyfriend?" The scientist laughed awkwardly and blushed.

"Oh! Oh no, it's uh-- it's n-n-not like that. He's a-a friend. Just a friend. A friend who is a boy--man. A... man-friend." The nurse's eye started twinkling in response to her rushed, flustered response, in a way that reminded Elizabeth of Dumbledore.

"Sure. Well he looks like a real catch, doesn't he? You know he's been pacing in the waiting room for a whole hour? Well no, of course you didn't... If you want I can bring him in here, so he can stop worrying." She winked at the younger lady with a knowing look. Elizabeth blushed harder, if that was possible.

"Yeah, that would be great. Thanks."

The nurse snickered and left the room, leaving Elizabeth alone.

 _'I guess she isn't wrong to think that way. How many other girls have seen their 'man-friends' mostly naked before?'_


	23. Regrets and Realizations

Bordon, Wilkins, and Tarleton sat at a table in Amelia's apartment, three glasses and a bottle placed near them on top of the worn, cheap plastic. Wilkins wore a pleased smirk as he held up a coin.

"Now gentlemen, here is the game. We will each take turns flipping this coin. If it lands heads up, the one who flipped it shall say something positive about the modern age. Tails up, and the remark shall be something offensive. Any hesitation, and they are to take a swig of uh..." He picked up the bottle on the table, squinting as he read the label.

"Te...que-la, from their glass."

Bordon seemed game, taking the bottle from Wilkins and filling up each of the glasses. Colonel Tarleton however, only reluctantly sat up with his face remaining stone. The major and captain both noticed that lately he was rather well, pissy, for lack of a better word.

"I will start the first round." Wilkins said, flicking his thumb under the coin and sending up into the air.

"Heads! Horseless carriages as transportation."

Bordon nodded, taking the coin into his calloused fingers before carelessly tossing it upward.

"Heads. Transportable music that can be played into one's ears." Richard smiled, sat back and proceeded to connect his earbuds to the iPod that Megan Liu, his acquaintance from the party, showed him how to use. He has changed much over the month, Wilkins noticed; as if he's simply stopped being the uptight officer from the war and assimilated with the modern generation.

"I knew you'd mention the music at some point. Colonel, it is your turn." Banastre, who was clearly not paying attention until Wilkins directed him back, curtly slid the coin to him. After he flung it onto the table and barely glanced at the White House stamped into the metal, he sighed.

"The women. More specifically, the women academics."

M.A.R.S., being the touchy robot that he is, beeped and whined at him from under the table to defend his mistress. The mechanical protests were ignored as Wilkins and Bordon laughed at the brooding colonel.

"I do not believe that you are talking about Doctor Smith. Pity. Doctor Bradford is a pretty thing, too."

Banastre briefly glared at Bordon before his gaze returned downward. "That she is. Unfortunately, she only has eyes for your commander."

James and Richard glanced at each other knowingly, both attempting to hide their amusement at Tarleton's misery.

"Well, I certainly do not envy you," Wilkins started, "Especially considering how ah, obvious you made your desire for her."

"I couldn't have possibly driven her away, I was as charming as ever! It was that devil Tavington who stole her from me. "

"Charming as ever? Yes, you could have given Prince Charming himself a run for his money." Richard remarked sarcastically and scoffed. "We watched your advances towards her all month. They were nearly as aggressive as your battle strategies, likely why you were effective at scaring away such a timid girl rather than gaining her affections."

Tarleon's expression soured even more despite the impossibility. That did not diminish Bordon's smug gaze. Or Wilkins smirking at Tarleton as soon as his head was turned.

"I think I will have that drink after all. You're useless, the pair of you!" Tarleton snatched his glass off the table, downing more than a swig of tequila. His eyes watered and he started to cough when he felt the liquid burn down his throat. Wilkins silently flipped the coin again.

"Tails. Incompetent robot servants." He eyed M.A.R.S. peeking out at him. It seemed to deflate, giving the man a few sad chirps. "Did she reject you outright?"

"Not exactly. She recently became quite angry with me."

Bordon glanced at him from the side of his eye as he tossed, one earbud jammed into his ear.

"Heads. Electric lighting. Was it something that you did that made her angry?"

"I refuse to discuss it anymore!" Tarleton slammed his hand down on the table to take the coin.

"Heads."

He paused saying nothing else, then took a swig of his drink. He was going to lose this game for sure. He was counting on it.

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It wasn't long before the trio had finished their game. By then Amelia wearily entered to see Banastre bumbling around her home completely soused, and the other two out of sight. Not really caring enough to see how they were doing, she made a beeline for her room.

Wilkins popped out of the bathroom when he saw that Mia had returned. Although he was tipsy, he noticed her odder-than-usual behavior as he watched her swiftly retreat past him and to her bedroom without her normal 'hello.' Hell, even a glance his way would have been welcome, but her darkened, glazed over eyes were glued to the floor in front of her. He glanced briefly around him, but he knew that Banastre was too drunk to be of any use and Bordon had already disappeared. Again. He stumbled up the hall and knocked on her door. The woman reluctantly opened it, and tiredly glanced up at him. Wilkin's lips parted a bit as he leaned against the doorpost.

"Hey. Are you doing alright?"

Amelia initially stared blankly at him for a moment, a telltale sign that all was not well with her. Then she hid any trace of trouble with a grin and a somewhat forced chuckle.

"Uh... yeah. Obviously. Why wouldn't I be, I mean... yeah. Everything's fine, James." Even as she brushed off his concern, she could not look up at him any longer. Nor could she close the door to her room--though she tried!-- as James had leaned against the post and did not budge an inch. James stared at her hard and, trying not to slur his words too much, he chose to confront her over it.

"No, no, no. No... Somethin's bothering you A-Mia." A hiccup quickly interrupted him. "Sorry, Amelia. I meant not to offend, though Mia is actually quite pretty..."

James leaned more than ever on the door post and his gaze suddenly roamed over her. The thin, elegant limbs under her boyish clothes, the deep, chestnut skin, the shiny voluminous curls. All of her seemed to overwhelm him and consume him now, most of all those sharp, intelligent eyes that seemed to peer deep into his soul--

Wait. Those eyes are peering at him now. Though they were squinted at him, filled with confusion and irritation.

"Man, I have no idea what you're going on about, but I really do not have the disposition for this at the moment, okay?"

James, realizing that he had briefly forgotten himself, cleared his throat and stepped back. Unfortunately, this brief moment of embarrassment allowed Amelia the ability to close the door and shut him out.

"So, you will admit that something is wrong, eh?" When he was met with only silence, he gently rapped upon the wood.

"So what if there is?" Her muffled voice challenged. "It's not like you can do anything about it."

"Oh, I don't know about that. Tell me the name of the bastard that hurt you, I'm sure that I l can--"

"No! No, it's not like that..." Wilkins heard her shuffle restlessly as her voice fizzled out. He nodded, though he realized that did no good as she could not see him!

"Well, you're smart enough to know that shutting yourself away won't fix anything. Hell, I'm the only one closest to you besides Doctor Bradford, so I'm supposed to listen to whatever the problem is and at least try to make you feel better. I'm not leaving 'till that happens."

Amy sighed. Although James's apparent intoxication seemed to hinder his normal 18th century sense of propriety, his usual chivalry remained. As well as his stubbornness, which Amy realized he would stand by his word, even stand outside her door all evening if he had to.

"Fine." Amy let him in, then returned to sit on her bed. She closed in on herself, ultimately aware that James, having no where else to sit, settled right next to her on the mattress. His bright eyes stared at her, patiently waiting. She turned her face away so he couldn't anymore, and reluctantly began.

"I... I hurt my friend." Amelia breathed out. James widened his eyes, but before he could say anything, she quickly spoke again. "Not on purpose, obviously. But I put Elizabeth in danger, and now she's in the hospital."

"The-- the hospital?" Wilkins sputtered.

"Yes. Because of an accident that I caused. But yeah, what else is new?" With a groan, Amy buried her head in her hands. James's idly crept his hand up her back and finally rested upon her dark curls, smoothing them down. It was a gesture of affection and comfort that she would have hated had he done it just a month ago, but now she found that she didn't mind.

"I'm sure that it will be all right. Perhaps later we can go visit her--"

"There's no way she'd want to see me after what happened, and I wouldn't blame her either." Her voice was nearly emotionless as she stated that, save for her bitterness. James tried to meet her gaze once more, but her eyes blankly fixated on a hanging plant on a shelf across the room.

"Why? You told me yourself that it was an accident..."

"Yes, but this isn't even the first time that something like this has happened. Why do you think I don't pursue robotics as a career anymore? My current workplace is a standard office now, the most hazardous thing in there is a stapler! Not that theoretical physics has been much better to me than engineering..."

Wilkins paused in contemplation for a good few moments.

"I am very sorry for your career. For what it's worth, I have never seen something quite so ah... impressive, as M.A.R.S."

Amy scoffed. "Yeah, you haven't had a really great sampling so far. It's... questionable at best. I'd need to spend hours coding it just to get rid of the more serious glitches."

"Oh, I don't know about mere flaws in his creation. Yes, at times he won't do things the way that one would prefer." James immediately thought of many of his shirts that were now stained with orange soda! "I swear though, sometimes it seems more that he has a mind of his own. His own ah... personality, I suppose. Quite impressive to me, considering that he is made from scraps of metal!"

Amelia glanced his way and actually smiled. Albeit briefly, but it was an accomplishment.

"I guess I'd never thought about it that way."

"You see? And as for Doctor Bradford... I think that you need to see her. I know that you feel remorse, that honestly makes it all the more important to attempt to reconcile. I know that if I had that chance, I would have taken it." Immediately sobered, James's shoulders sagged and his face looked as though he were forced to watch the church at Pembroke all over again. Amy looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Something terrible must have happened to you." Amelia's perception was not great, but it was difficult for even her to remain oblivious to his troubles. Especially at night, when his dreams did not allow him to escape whatever horrible event it was, and the walls were too thin for her to remain unaware.

James hid all emotion from his face, bottled his guilt and pain beneath airtight prisons and locked fortresses. "It no longer matters," his voice was harsher than he had intended. "You are not the only one here who feels remorse, let's just say. What I have done was in service to His Majesty. I was following orders--" The Nazis he had recently learned of came to his mind, causing his stomach to twitch with nausea.

"Though, that's hardly an excuse. But what I have done was a long time ago, and nothing can be done to help it. Nothing, except for standing up to take whatever punishment that is seen fit when the time comes. Hell, karma, whatever it is you want to call it. Your situation is different in this case. Surely you can return to your friend and help her recover?"

Amelia's curls bounced as she nodded. Wilkins patted her on the back.

"Good. Anyway, we should probably go. I am certain that Tavington is there as well. He's got a nasty temper as you may already know, and he may be less than pleased towards you now."

Amy cringed. She knew for sure that meeting Tavington at the hospital would not be enjoyable!

"I can protect you, however." James stated firmly. "So, do not concern yourself too much with him. One thing that I like about this place is that he has no real authority here."

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Several hours, a near standoff between the two dragoons, and about twenty feverish apologies form Amelia later, Elizabeth was released from the hospital. William took her arm and supported her as they slowly made their way up the stairs to her apartment. She could walk fine by now, but he insisted as it was something a gentleman ought to do. Or so he told Beth, and himself. Certainly not because he was concerned about her, certainly not! There was no way to convince that to the dozens who had witnessed him with the woman in his arms, transporting her as fast as he could across the entire damned campus, however. Or to that nurse as a matter of fact.

Finally reaching her home, William let both of them in and after they settled on the sofa, he cautiously, awkwardly, gathered her up in his arms. Because she needed the comfort, obviously. He could feel her still trembling, making his anger threaten to return.

" I know that is your workspace, but you must try to take care whenever you are there. Especially if Doctor Smith is present." He calmly murmured in her ear. He actually has displayed a great deal of restraint by not tearing into her co-worker! If it was not for his own subordinate holding him back, he just might have. Tavington always did dislike Wilkins. If either of their ranks meant anything here, he would have had him flogged for insubordination!

"Agreed. Thank you for helping me." William shook his head, hating himself for the warm sensation on his face when he let go of her.

"It's nothing. A mere kindness, that's all. Don't force me to make a habit out of it."

"Okay. Are you hungry?" She asked as she stood up. That was a rhetorical question, she quickly discovered that William's stomach was sort of a bottomless pit. Before she could reach the kitchen though, a firm hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"I will take care of dinner tonight. Do not over--exert yourself."

Later that evening, Elizabeth lay awake at her bed. Different thoughts were keeping her up this time. The anxiety over the not-so-distant future, the nagging over her faults and the 1,001 mildly embarrassing things she's done or said that day seemed to give her a break. Instead, her mind was turned to William. About how much he's changed. He could be so frightening at times, but now he was sweet and considerate-- towards her, anyway. His reaction today was more than enough to prove that. He was at her side the whole time, his words reassured her and his touch anchored her to reality. Then a realization practically reached up and slapped her in the face.

'I'm in love with William freakin' Tavington.'


	24. The Confession

Sunday, November 15th, 7:00 pm

Richard wandered around the town, too miserable to really care where he was going. He had previously been optimistic about returning to 1781, but now that the ability to go through with it was so close... Instead of the relief that he ought to feel, he felt empty when he,thought about going home. He bitterly gritted his teeth and furiously marched forward.

If _home_ could be a word to describe a hard cot in a cold tent, surrounded by blood and death. That was what he had to look forward to when Doctor Smith completed the device. And of course afterwards, he would go back to England and live out the rest of his life always doing only what everyone else _expected_ of him. No more modern music. No more bizarre and wonderful things to experience. No more Megan.

Of course, he _did_ have to think about his own future and family back in the 18th century to worry about. As a second born son with little inheritance to speak of, he joined His Royal Majesty's army out of necessity. How on earth was he going to earn a living in the modern age with little understanding of how it works? And his poor mother... she was always very worrisome over all five of her children. She will _certainly_ miss him.

Bordon scurried onto the sidewalk like a frightened mouse when he heard the blaring noise of a metal carriage honking from directly behind him.

"Stay on the sidewalk, you moron!" A very obnoxious voice screamed. Bordon gaped, taken back, then continued to march. Well really!

Bordon shook his head, feeling even more lost and isolated tonight than he ever did in his entire life. At least in his own time there was sense in the world, everyone knew their place in society and what was expected of them. But now...there appeared to be absolutely no rules whatsoever. All sensibility and expectation has been thrown out of the window.

Soon enough he found himself in front of a tavern of sorts, where he knew that his Megan worked. He walked in, listening to the soulful piano over the speakers, the musician putting into song the isolation and melancholy he felt.

"S _he packed my bags last night,_ preflight

 _Zero hour, nine A.M._

 _And I'm gonna be high as a kite by then_

 _I miss the earth so much, I miss my wife._

 _It's lonely out in space, on such a timeless flight."_

The tavern was mostly empty, but those who were there--mostly students-- looked at Richard as if he were a fish out of water. He forced himself to just stare ahead. He ignored the obnoxious young men, or the women that wore very little on their lithe bodies, all gaping at him and his plaited hair as if he was a captive creature to be oogled. He sat upon a bar stool, burying his face in one hand.

 _"And I think it's going to be a long long_ time

 _The touchdown brings me around again to find_

 _I'm not the man they think I am at home oh no no no_

I _'m a rocket man!"_

 _Rocket Man, burning out his fuse up here alone!"_

"Hey Richard! Are you okay?" Bordon raised his head and met his gaze questioningly. It was then that he noticed Megan cleaning glasses being the coumter. He took a moment to admire the golden glow that came over her face as she smiled at him, and warmth in her large, dark eyes. He had come to admire her bright, bubbly personality, it even brought out the more outgoing side in him after a while.

Bordon was quite taken back though, when he saw her hair. Normally it was long, straight, and beautifully glossy, like black satin. But now when he looked at her, he saw that her hair had changed into a wavy palate of blues, greens, and purples. He responded slowly, while eying one electric green curl in fascination and shock.

"Oh, so-so, I suppose. What happened to your hair?" Her dainty pink lips turned upwards as she let out a giggle.

"Do you like it? It took a while for it to be bleached and dyed, but I'm really happy with it!"

"I see... Well, it looks fantastic." He forced out the polite response. Honestly, it reminded him of the Doctor Robert scene in Across the Universe! But as colorful as her personality is, it seemed to match. And at least she appeared to leave some of it 'unbleached' and 'undyed' for him to admire.

"You sure? You look pretty...disheartened."

"Oh, I have been, but I can assure you that it has had nothing to do with you."

"Oh. Well, you came to the right place for that! What can I get you?" He had no idea. He didn't know what they served in this time, aside from those ghastly sugared, bubbly beverages.

"What would you recommend?" He asked cautiously.

"I do make a mean Long Island Tea." Bordon perked up a bit at that.

"You have tea? That would be most welcome, thank you." The lady's grin widened, amused. She began to mix ice and liquids into a metal container. Bordon gaped at her, taken back at the sly, flirtatious glances she gave him.

"M _ars ain't the kind of place to raise your_ kids

I _n fact it's cold as_ hell

A _nd there's no one there to raise them if you did"_

"So, what's bothering you?"

"The time has almost come for me to return home." He replied with a solemn voice.

"To England? It wasn't that long ago when you were complaining about _not_ going back." She poured the concoction into a tall glass and stuck a lemon slice at the edge.

"Yes. However, this place has grown on me after a while."

"Heh. Well, you sure are adaptable. It took me at least a year to get used to the changes when I moved to this country." Megan put the glass on the counter for him to take.

"Believe me, _everything_ here is different than it was at home."

Bordon narrowed his eyes at the concoction, then he took it in one hand and inspected it. His lip curled a bit at the thought of cold tea. However, it would be rude to refuse the beverage after the woman just made it for him. He took a sip from the blue straw, finding that it did not taste at all like tea. He enjoyed it anyway, and therefore gulped down the entire thing in less than a minute. All while Megan gave him an quizzical stare while she was fixing someone else's drink. Bordon felt much better now, and grinned up at her when he put the glass back on the counter.

"Another tea, if you please."

A few minutes later she made him another one.

"You have to drink it _slowly._ It's not really tea, you know. Right now I have a break, so maybe I can help talk things over." She moved around the counter and took a seat next to him.

"So... If you like it here so much why do you want to leave anyway?"

Bordon sighed. "I don't _want_ to leave! Well, perhaps I do--"

"You're just not sure?"

Richard nodded, then continued miserably.

"I find myself being pulled between two worlds. The first one consists of my family, my experience, and a clear, stable way of life for me. The other holds freedom, love, and excitement. Yet if I choose one, I lose the other."

"Well, I can relate to that. When I moved here, I felt displaced too. America is _sooo_ different from China. On top of that I had to learn English, which is pretty hard if you haven't already been speaking it your whole life! But... even though I'm an American now, China still hasn't left me. Even though it's halfway across the word it hasn't. And do you know why? Because my old life has helped to shape me, and it's part of me. The important thing is that you don't forget who you are. I still go by my Chinese name sometimes, and I still play my grandfather's erhu, just a few things I do to remind myself. I'm rambling a bit now, but... you understand my point."

Bordon nodded his head at the talkative woman's speech. It was quite normal for her to go on long monolougues such as this. But she really did put things into perspective for him! His situation was a bit altered of course but... His old way of life doesn't necessarily have to leave him simply because he lives in 2016. And thankfully, it is quite clear that he is not alone either.

"I... I do want to stay here but...I know not how I will support myself."

"What, financially?" Megan shrugged. "I know you have great talent with the violin. I heard you! If you keep working, maybe learn some newer stuff, you could play at all the great stages! Maybe I can break out my cello and play with you, like a duet act!"

Richard scoffed.

"One thing that has been drilled into my head since I was born, is that the arts must be pursued as merely a passtime. Not a profession."

"I was told the same thing. Of course, I'm studying music anyway and I'm doing alright. I can maybe promise you a job at this place until the concert thing lifts off."

Bordon grinned at her now. A real, genuine grin. From him, that was more rare than a blizzard in July!

"I would very much enjoy that. But I do have one question."

"What's that?"

"What on earth is an erhu?"

Megan giggled again, her eyes glittered in the dim light.

After several hours of talking with Megan and the two of them getting utterly soused, he payed and left the tavern with her. There was a newfound sense of freedom within him. And he had every intention of reveling in it for every second that he can.

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' _Something's got a hold on me, yeah!_

 _(Oh, it must be love!)_

 _Oh, something 's got a hold on me right now, child!_

 _(Oh, it must be love!)'_

Elizabeth moped down the stairs with a basket of laundry, listening to music with one earbud in.

' _Let me tell you now_

 _I've got a feeling, it feels so strange,_

 _Everything about me seems to have changed!_

 _Step by step, I've got a brand new walk_

 _I even sound sweeter when I talk!'_

Elizabeth frowned. Those words that Etta James soulfully belted out, they expressed exactly how Elizabeth felt right now. Except of course, the love had the exact opposite effect on her.

She loaded clothes into one washing machine in the building laundry room. The last one was a navy blue button up. It was one of the first articles of clothing that she picked out for William. She could smell his scent from it-- soap, leather, and the woodsy cologne that he picked out the first time they went shopping together. The memory made her sigh.

She was thoroughly, deeply, in love. More than a week since she's realized, because it was so unfamiliar to her, her over analyzing brain couldn't process it at first. This wasn't attraction anymore, or compatibility, or even mere 'fondness.' It was full-on, intense, _love._ For William freaking Tavington. Why was she so unhappy then?

Elizabeth frowned, putting the clothes into the machine. The time travel device was _almost_ ready. Just a few more tests, and he would disappear to his time forever. She solemnly sat down.

' _It's just not meant to be. We're from two different worlds. In a few days, he'll go back to where he belongs and I'll never see him again.'_

Of course, with how moody William has been today, he's making this _mostly_ unbearable instead of completely. He'd been avoiding her for some reason, and when she did try to talk to him, she noticed that something seemed to be bothering him. That didn't make sense to her. He made it clear that he wanted to go back. He mentioned earlier how much everything made sense in his time, and he had his future and glory there. And even after he started to get a little comfortable here, he still seems so out of place. So why did he seem so unhappy now that the time for him to return was so close?

She shook her head. She hated that human emotion was sometimes too unpredictable to make sense of. She found herself wishing that we all could suppress emotion and attachment.

 _'Yeah, because that worked out so well for the Jedi.'_

Elizabeth chuckled, but at the same time some tears leaked out of her. So much for being an emotionless android. The machine stopped. She put them in the dryer, thinking some more.

She wanted to talk to him, but he was who-knows-where right now. It was late on a Friday night. She knew that she should be in bed by now but... staying up and letting troubles eat away at her brain is kind of how she rolls, to be honest. That's why she was doing laundry at 10:00 at night. She tried using her movies to take her mind off it, but that didn't help. In fact, Harry Potter made it worse. Who knew that an eighteenth century British dragoon looked so much like an evil blonde wizard?

After the laundry was finished, she went back home. The entire apartment felt empty and cold. And lonely. _So_ lonely. The solitude didn't really bother her before. For as long as she could remember, she had been a lone wolf. But now, after this handsome, smart man turned up from the blue and turned her life upside down, the solitude that she used to be most comfortable in was now intolerable. She realized that, however against her will, Colonel William freakin' Tavington has completely changed her life permanently. So what the heck was she going to do when he leaves forever?

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.

"What-- it's ten at night, who in their right mind--" Elizabeth grumbled, swinging the door open in an irritated manner. She was surprised to see Amy and James, struggling to hold up William who seemed a little-- out of it. He grinned at her in a way that was so uncharacteristic that it was almost funny.

"Hello!" He softly slurred. He jerked forward and unceremoniously tripped through the doorway. "There she is, the smartest woman in the world!" Was he drunk? Elizabeth gave Amy a questioning look. She stared back with a blank expression. James seemed bemused at his commander's odd behavior. All three of them eyed him stumbling across the living room, then perching on the arm of the sofa.

"He was with me for a few hours, asking about the device. Curiously, he also wanted to know if it was necessary for him to return. I asked him why, and he got upset. Then M.A.R.S. put a crushed up valium in his drink." Elizabeth gave her a look.

"Wha--Again? You have to program that out of him!"

"I know, I'm getting around to it. Anyway, he's yours to deal with now, goodbye!" She promptly walked off. Wilkins smiled good naturedly at her, nodded, then followed Amy. He didn't say a single word, a little unusual for him, but whatever. After closing the door, she regarded William. She noticed that his normally piercing blue eyes were glazed over, and his intimidating frame was weak. He gave her a little grin, barely balanced on the side of the couch.

"I'm back!" He said in a singsong manner, and then he chuckled almost uncontrollably.

 _'I hope it was just one Valium.'_

"Yes. You seemed to be kind of upset today."

"I was indeed." He said in a deadpan tone, his body slid into an actual seat with his legs dangling over the edge. Elizabeth sat down next to him.

"Okay...care to explain why?"

"Not particularly."

"William..."

"Very well! But you must not tell Miss Bradford." He said, looking her straight in the eye. He was completely serious. Elizabeth held back a laugh.

"No one will know but the two of us."

"I was unhappy that I must leave soon. I was avoiding Elizabeth to try and make it easier to bear." He held his hand in front of his face and examined it with a dazed expression.

"Easier to bear? You...don't want to leave?" He looked at her with a blank expression.

"I drank water that tasted odd."

"William please...tell me why you don't want to leave. I thought you wanted to go." He dropped his hand, and his rested his back against her body with a sigh. He seemed to be too out of it to notice, though.

"It's because of Eliza." He whispered, barely audible.

"Because of me?" Elizabeth was taken back. He sunk back even further, until he was almost lying across her lap.

"Ever since she took me in, I've slowly developed..." He paused, his drug asked brain trying to find the right word. "...Stirrings."

She frowned. "Stirrings?..."

"All right, feelings, damn and blast you." He muttered weakly, sitting up. His glassy eyes stared into hers now, he spoke from the bottom of his heart.

"I first felt it shortly after I appeared in the modern age. You must understand, this event has altered my life quite drastically. I found this age to be...confusing, complicated, uncomfortable. She was always there to help me see the good in it. She has helped me see the good in everything, even details that I have never really thought about before. She slowly invaded the heart I hardly even realized I had, and she has completely dominated it. And although I must leave, I can scarcely imagine a life without her." He slowly and thoughtfully murmured, more to himself than to her. Her eyes widened in realization and joy.

' _H_ _e loves me back! It makes so much sense now!'_

Elizabeth calmly cleared her throat.

"Well, uh, if you wanted... I mean there's no law that says you have to go. Why don't you consider staying?"

William shook his head and closed his eyes. "She deserves better. Not this monster of a man."

"Will, you're not a monster. You did some bad things, yes. But you also tried to redeem yourself, and you came to regret your atrocities. A true monster would never do that."

"You really think so?"

"I know so. I didn't tell you this, but I did some research about 'The Butcher' very recently. Like last week. I know what he did, and honestly, if I found out a month ago I likely would have been too afraid of you to let you stay here! But you've changed a _lot_ since then, and I can tell you've come to regret your actions. You want to redeem yoirself, but how can you do that when you don't give yourself a chance too? I don't really believe that 'The Butcher'exists anymore. He died in Cowpens, and he was slowly replaced with the man that I love!" Elizabeth said all at once, she didn't even realize that she said that last part out loud.

That is, until she saw the dumbfounded look on his face. He seemed more focused and aware than he did moments ago. She gave him a little shrug, trying to overcome the shyness that came with her confession. After a moment of crushing silence she continued quietly.

"I can't change your mind for you. I can't promise that you won't regret whatever choice you make. But just know that I feel the same way about you that you do about me." She pleaded. William only continued to stare.

"So, do you think you'll reconsider?" William gave her a little smirk, his face was inches away from hers.

"I already have." Their lips touched. William closed his eyes, deepening the kiss as his hands lazily caressed her body. Elizabeth was stunned for a moment, then her lips passionately pressed back against his. They were like that for some time before they broke the kiss and came up for air. Elizabeth grinned at him, breathless from the contact.

"I'll take that as you choosing me, then!"


	25. The Test

Monday, November 16th, 7:00 am

Amy, James, and Banastre walked down the steps of the apartment building. They reached Elizabeth's door.

"Could you please remind us again why we are here?" Banastre asked the doctor. He felt very uncomfortable, as the events from a few weeks ago still affected the relationship between him and the woman that lived there.

"We're here because we all need to go to a location where we can run the final test on the device and hopefully send all of you back to the eighteenth century." She responded, clearly oblivious to his discomfort. Wilkins clapped the short man on the back.

"Now, now! It will be only a short time before you return home, to as many women as you could ever want! Of course you may have to pay for some of them--" Wilkins stopped his teasing when Banastre sent him a scowl and Amy raised her brow at him. The girl then turned to the door and knocked on it.

"Elizabeth?" She knocked again. No answer.

"Colonel?" She knocked again. No answer. She then proceeded to turn a key into the knob, much to the dismay of the others.

"Have you no shame woman?" Banastre was taken back. She ignored him, opening the door. Not knowing what else to do, Wilkins reluctantly followed her inside...to find his hardened, cold commander asleep on the sofa, tenderly clinging to a sleeping Doctor Bradford. He had to keep from laughing, Amy too. Banastre reluctantly came in, when he saw the pair he just rolled his eyes.

"My God. This almost seems unnatural." James whispered, trying not to wake up the cuddling couple. He had no idea his commander was even capable of acting this soft towards anyone.

"Well, he was drugged. I'm wondering how he got Elizabeth so comfortable around him. She doesn't really like people touching her. This is very uncharacteristic." Amy quietly weighed in, the three of them staring torward the couch from across the room. The captain shrugged.

"He's a very lucky bastard then. She is fortunate as well, to be exposed to this softer side of him." He saw Amy pull out her phone.

"Now I know why he doesn't want to leave. It could potentially alter the timeline if he stays though." She quietly mused. Wilkins' face dropped, he _was_ going to express to her his desire to stay. Clearly he's not the only one, Bordon went missing in action since last nig!t. Unfortunately, he is not all too sure that he has a choice. Well, it was too late now, he supposed!

Banastre scowled at William, feeling betrayed. He said nothing as he quickly disappeared into William's room to grab the history textbook. Amy pointed her phone at the two and took a picture.

"Mmm..." The Colonel softly groaned as he shifted his position. This caused a small panic from the pair. They quickly shuffled to the dpor, exiting as quietly as they could. Wilkins looked back, to find that his commander was starting to wake up, though his eyes were still closed.

They exited in a rush, Banastre returned and caught up with them. The book was hidden in the knapsack he brought with him.

"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to go in there after all." Amy said once they were safely out of the apartment. James nodded in agreement.

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William opened his eyes and immediately he was presented with the sight of Elizabeth's face inches away from his.

"Bloody hell." He whispered, his mouth gaped in confusion as his still hazy mind took in the feeling of the couch he was lying on, the warm blanket, and the soft flesh of the woman that was pressed to his body. As well as the clothes both of them were wearing, thank the Lord. He remembered absolutely nothing that happened last night and to forget his first intimate encounter with Elizabeth would truly be a shame. He carefully retracted the arm that was splayed over her body, only to have her draw ever closer to him and hold him tighter in her sleep. He smiled just a bit, allowing himself to enjoy the contact that with any other he would absolutely loathe. He lay there, trying to recollect the events that led him to this position. The last thing he remembered was talking to Doctor Smith, then she and Wilkins took him home. Everything after that were only hazy bits and pieces in his memory.

He sighed in exasperation at his failed memory, and suddenly became aware of his fingers that were buried in Elizabeth's hair. He kept his hand there and sighed again, this time in relaxation. He then spent a few moments studying her face. Normally Elizabeth was very active, often filled with either stress or youthful energy. He reckoned that he'd fully take in her most relaxed and vulnerable state while he still could.

She had a peaceful expression, save for her brow, slightly furrowed like it always was when she was deep in thought. Her full, pink lips were parted a bit, she was murmuring unintelligibly in her sleep. He reasoned that she must be dreaming. He raised his head so that he could hear her with both ears. It wasn't clear, but it sounded as if she were dreaming about him.

' _I know what the butcher did! I don't believe he exists anymore. He died in Cowpens and was replaced by the man I love!'_

The memory came back to him. Last night was the night that he accidentally confessed his love for Elizabeth, only to find that it was reciprocated.

"I suppose that's that then." He murmured, as he peacefully lay there holding the slumbering woman. For the first time that he could remember, he was completely content.

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1:00 pm

It took nearly two hours for the four of them to drive to Oklahoma City. Finally, they made it to downtown OKC, which was a very modernized big city area. From the driver's seat, Elizabeth could hear the boys marvel at the various skyscrapers as they exited the highway. More particularly, the tallest, shiniest building of the lot where she and Amy were going to test out the device.

"Oh my-- That's the tallest building that I have ever seen! Such a monument, how did they build that?"

"It's the Devon Tower," she heard Amelia reply to James' cry. "It was built by a corporation that sells petrolium, and it took a few years. It lights up at night, so does the metal sculpture over the highway a few miles back."

"I did not realize that was a sculpture." William said. "It looked more like a bundle of silver poles were lashed together to create a disorganized mess."

"Yeah, it's _very_ abstract." Elizabeth giggled. "It's supposed to be of a bird, but it doesn't really look like one to me either."

Elizabeth parked in a lot that was quite a ways away from the building. They slowly made their way through the famous canal, the semi-crowded streets, and the labyrinth of office buildings and fancy hotels.

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It was the finally time to test the time-travel device that would return the soldiers back to the 18th century. Amelia and the men stood at the top of the skyscraper setting it up. Amelia was also explaining the process to Elizabeth.

"Now, the device is designed to convert energy from the force of motion into Quantum energy. But, the only thing that will produce enough force is gravity." She caught on to what she was saying.

"You're going to jump off the damn Devon tower!?" She exclaimed. The men all looked at her then at each other with worried and aghast expressions.

"Look, I've already tested it out on objects, then lab rats, they were completely unharmed! This thing works! If time travel was easy, everyone would do it!"

Elizabeth huffed and looked down from the balcony they were on. The ground was so far down, the people that were walking on it looked like insects. She glanced back at Amelia, because she knew that her friend had a deathly fear of heights. And when she was scared she froze up, and--

Elizabeth shuddered and stopped her train of thought right there. Amy stiffly walked to the edge of the roof, her skin was pale, she looked about ready to faint!

"Wait a minute, Amy. Let me do this one." Elizabeth firmly demanded. The thin doctor glanced back at her with a questioning and frightened look in her eye. William frowned at her.

"What? You said yourself that it works, right?"

"Yes but--"

"Then I trust you, okay? It's better than you falling to your death because your fear made you forget what to do. Give it to me."

Amelia reluctantly did and stepped away from the edge, her face twisted with anticipation.

"Please be careful." William severely murmured, quietly enough so the others couldn't hear them. Behind his back though, Ban glared. She gave him a reassuring grin.

"Everything's going to fine." She just gave him an awkward pat on the shoulder, as neither of them were comfortable showing affection in front of others.

Amy handed her a pair of goggles. "The tower is 257 meters tall. Giving your weight, and the destination, by 250 meters, the device should be affected by enough force to be able to make the leap. The light will turn green when it's ready, and you'll press this button." She pointed to a green button on the bottom. "Make sure you push it the second it lights up. I've set it for March 25th, 1941." Amy gave her a large carrier bag as well.

"What's that for?"

"It has a disguise. You can't very well run around in the 40s wearing your 21st century clothes. The recordings of my experiments are in there as well. Take care of them, write down your results. There's also some money from that time, just in case."

Elizabeth nodded nervously as she put on the gear. She cautiously stepped over the railing, double checked the device, and looked over at the ground. That was a mistake.

"Oh god..." She turned pale and squeezed her eyes shut. She heard James, Amy, even Banastre. They were all encouraging her, trying to offer comfort. She gritted her teeth and jumped.

She fell at a fast pace screaming all the way. It was like a large hill in a roller coaster. Only this was worse because she could possibly die! The ground was closer and closer as each second went by. She squinted at the device. It seemed to be charging up in energy... and it started to crackle and smoke. That's not good. Just as she was only a few meters away from the pavement, it chirped and the light turned green. With a yell, she pressed the button with lightning speed, and then disappeared in a purple flash of light.

The next thing Elizabeth knew, she was standing on the sidewalk, disoriented. She looked around. There were wide streets and tall buildings everwhere, much like downtown Oklahoma City. But she wasn't there anymore. She was in what looked like New York City. She also noticed that it was almost nighttime, and there were some people walking around, dressed in suits, suspenders, dresses. They were all too rushed to notice their surroundings, thankfully even a lost scientist in bright purple leggings and polyester. There were a select few though, who in fact did notice her and gave her a number of odd looks.

She calmly but quickly moved away from the crowd, ducking into a nearby hotel. The lobby was luxuriously decorated, and mostly quiet and empty. She heard the time and date from a radio that was quietly playing. 7:30 pm, March 25th, 1941. She smelled smoke nearby, and looked for the source. She finally found it...from the device that was still strapped to her arm. The thing was mostly fried, it was black and smoke was coming out of it.

She widened her eyes, as her mind fully processed what she just got herself into. She actually traveled through time and space in a matter of seconds, but now by an unforseen bump in the road she could very well be stuck. In a time where she couldn't have William. Or even some of her freedoms, for that matter.

"Oh shit."

 **CLIFFHANGER BABY!! MUHAHAhaha! What did my character get herself into this time? I know that this chapter is just a little messy, but we are moving on to a whole new level of crap hitting the fan as you can see! Will Elizabeth ever be able to get herself out of the 40's?**


	26. Out of Time

**Unfortunately, Elizabeth will be on her own in this chapter, but the dragoons will return in the next one! But I do have a special cameo here!**

Tuesday, March 25th, 1941

"Oh shit."

Elizabeth muttered, still unnoticed by the few people in the hotel lobby. She stood there, staring at the broken device, as she was silently begging some deity, any deity, to fix it. When that didn't work, she silently went to a public restroom near the back of the building. She locked herself in a stall, trying not to panic. She looked in the purse. The first thing she saw was the disguise. Well, it wasn't very subtle, with the flashy blue fabric of the dress.

"What'd you do, borrow this from the theatre majors?" She shook her head. She shook the dress out after she removed it from the bag. It was even flashier than she realized, with a cinched neckline, a small waist, and a flowing skirt that made the woman wonder how Amy managed to fit the thing inside. She rolled her eyes.

 _'So much for being inconspicuous.'_

Hanging the dress on a hook, she rummaged inside of the bag some more. She found the money, which was enough for a few months of survival in 2016, but worth several decades of comfortable living in the 40s. There was also a pair of tights, and black pumps. She found the notes and the blueprints for the device. Good.

She'd look at everything later, not from a bathroom. Putting the device inside of the knapsack, she put it aside and changed into the 1940s clothes. The dress was very uncomfortable as it fit Amelia's lanky figure but at least it was something. She stepped out and made her way to the receptionist's desk. She politely stood, waiting for the woman behind the desk to finish her phone call. She eventually did, and looked at the young scientist like she was something the cat dragged in. Rude.

"How may I help you?" The receptionist asked, her overly red lips curled into a sneer and her beady eyes eyed her up and down.

"Do you have any rooms open?"

"Not if you don't have a reservation, honey."

Elizabeth, getting annoyed at the receptionist's snippy attitude, opened the purse and displayed some 100's. The woman behind the desk seemed to change her tune.

"How much for a room for one?"

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Wednesday, March 26, 1941

1:00 am

Elizabeth sat at a desk in her hotel room, hunching over the device, the blueprints, and the notes from Amy's experiments.

"Dammit, I'm a doctor, not an engineer." She hissed to herself as she examined the complicated wiring inside of the device. At least she figured out _why_ the machine broke.

According to Amy's notes, the previous tests only included taking mice that weighed only 400 grams or so, and transporting them to a short distance in time and space. Such as the next room, five minutes ago. Transporting a 130 pound woman across the country, and through decades in time was a really big step from that. Too big, as that amount of necessary energy is what must have caused a strain on the device. And transporting several large men to centuries back in time could very well end in disaster!

 _'How could I have not seen this earlier? I'm so damn stupid!"_

She sighed, frustrated. Knowing why something failed is very different from having a solution. And even though she had a basic idea of how the device works, she had no idea how to fix it. There were fried copper wires, and the like. She may never set foot in her time again. But she could warn the others. She dug out a pencil and a blank sheet of paper.

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(10 hours later)

Elizabeth walked into the New York City Post Office, feeling ridiculous in her dress, makeup, and curled hair.

 _'Man, how do all of the women here put up with this? My face feels heavy, I can't walk in these shoes, and I got catcalled at least ten times!'_

There was a man behind the counter, who gave her a disgustingly flirtatious grin the second he saw her. She could see a wedding ring on his left hand. 'World's greatest generation,' indeed.

"Hey, doll. What can I do for you today?" Elizabeth's face was stone, she was not in the mood for this. She gave him an envelope with a stamp.

"I have a rather unusual delivery request for this letter. It is going to an Amelia Smith, who lives in Oklahoma City, as you can see on the address." The collector looked at it.

"Yeah, I can see, I'm not blind. I can also see you wrote something called the 'Devon Tower' on there. I've never heard of it. Are you sure it's there, sweetheart?" He gave her a condescending look. Elizabeth gritted her teeth.

"I know what I'm doing, sir." She said in a low, severe voice. His patronizing manner faltered. "My request is that the letter reaches that address at 1:05 PM, November 9th, 2016." She said slowly, sounding out each syllable with irritation. He looked at her like she was crazy now. She stared back in a cool, serious manner.

"Is this supposed to be some kinda joke or something?"

"No, I'm completely serious. If I was joking, it'd be a waste of both our time. Just make sure that letter gets there at that exact time and place. You'll want to write it down to pass on." Elizabeth threw a few ten dollar bills on the counter.

"And here's something for your trouble."

She walked off, the collector held the envelope in his hand, dumbfounded.

"Wait!" She turned back to him from the doorway, eying him impatiently.

"What for?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She replied in an even, cryptic voice.

She walked out, and wandered around the city. Eventually she found herself sitting on a bench in Central Park. It was beautiful, but she was too forlorn to notice. She closed her eyes, the image of William's hypnotizing eyes and handsome face was engrained in her mind. She felt absolutely miserable thinking that she may never see him again. She was so deep in thought, she didn't notice the elderly man that sat next to her, or the flock of pigeons that surrounded them until...

"Oh!" She cried out in surprise as she felt a small weight on her lap. It was a pigeon, a pure white one with light grey tips at the end of its wings. The elder gently grabbed it and got it off of her, then planted the thing upon his own lap.

"I'm very sorry miss, she-- she sometimes likes to visit strangers." He apologized, an eastern European accent was present. She looked at him now. He was long and gangly, sort of like a basketball player. He had some white hairs on his head, very round dark eyes, and a small white mustache.

"Oh, uh, that's alright, just surprised me is all." She quickly brushed off the apology then continued to sit in silence.

"One. Two. Three." The man counted in an almost obsessive manner, tossing breadcrumbs in sets of three, saving the biggest pieces for the white bird on his lap.

"One. Two. Three." Elizabeth couldn't help but watch his odd behavior, still forlorn. The elder started talking to her, looking shyly up at her through his eyelashes.

"I've fed thousands of pigeons for years. This one," he gestured to the white bird, "is different from the rest. I love her as a man loves a woman. My life's earlier work is finished now, but as long as she is with me, I still have some purpose."

Elizabeth nodded, still thinking about the man she loved, apparently the same way the elder next to her loved the pigeon. That comparison seemed silly, but it nevertheless rubbed salt on the wound. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the tears and the pain.

 _'Well whose fault is that??'_

She thought to keep conversing with the man next to her, just to distract her from the harsh reality just for a little bit until she was behind closed doors. His odd nature was actually comforting in a way. It reminded her of Amy.

"Sir, if I may ask, what was your earlier work?" He took a minute to toss three more rounds of breadcrumbs.

"One. Two. Three. I've worked with the wonders of electricity, and how it can better humanity. I've made the alternating circuit a reality, I've created cold light. I've even experimented with the ability so send electric signals across the globe to power the entire earth for free. Although, I've only managed to discover thousands of ways it would not work."

Elizabeth's face lit up with recognition. The pigeon, the obsessive nature...This man was Nikola Tesla, one of the most eccentric, but most intelligent people in history! With his experience with electricity, he probably understood it more than anyone else here. If anybody in this time could help her, he could.

"You've just tried to work with concepts that were ahead of your time. You've had the vision your whole life, but not the means." She thoughtfully replied, digging out the device and blueprints. "Perhaps, if you'd like, you can help me work on something to make one part of the future a reality."

Tesla stared at the device, then looked at her with an engaged, curious glint in his eye. He held out his hands, she gave it to him.

"Oh, this is just like one of the designs planned out in my head. What is its purpose?"

Elizabeth hesitated. Should she really tell a famous scientist that she was from the future and traveled here using the funny remote thing he was admiring like a shiny new toy? Then again, this was the same man that was in love with a bird, and convinced that it loved him back. No one would believe him, he wouldn't be able to recreate the whole thing by himself, and this was towards the end of his life anyway. She looked all around her, finding that no one but the elder genius was in earshot.

"It's for time travel."


	27. The Leap of Faith

Sunday, March 30th, 1941

Although it was a new setting for Elizabeth, she hasn't really seen much of 1940s New York over the past few days. Aside from grocery shopping (Elizabeth was absolutely thrilled when she first saw the prices!), and that one trip to the tailor to make her only dress fit comfortably, she and Tesla were essentially holed up in her hotel room, fixing the device as best they could. (It was gossip fuel for that horrible receptionist to see the two of them going up together, nevermind the fact that Nikola is 90 years old and asexual!)

Over the past few days though, she did learn much more about him than just the quirks he's famous for, like his obsession with the number three and his phobia of pearls. She learned that Tesla was an incredibly kind and generous person to other people as well as his birds. He also had a brilliant mind that contantly produced ideas far ahead of his time. Whenever she told him about the 21st century, some of the facts matched up with his own predictions about the future! She told him just a little bit about her own life, such as her career and some of the people she was closest too. Being the introverts they both were, much of what they did say to each other was kept on their work or modern society.

Finally, the device was completed. They had no idea if it would really work, but there was one way to find out. Now they were at the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building. At Tesla's insistence, they _had_ to be on a floor number that could be divided by three. At least the floor was empty, and it provided more than enough altitude to build up enough energy. Elizabeth gave a quick smile at the inventor.

"I'd like to say what an honor it was to meet and work with you, sir. I've admired you for a very long time. Your inventions are still being used in the 21st century." She held out her hand, only instead of shaking it he had a little fit and looked uncomfortably at her.

'Oh, right.' Elizabeth put her hand down, settling for just a head nod. He gave three nods back.

"It is my honor miss, to be acquainted with a woman out of time." Tesla gave her a small, awkward smile. "However, why are you willing to risk your life over this man you've told me about?"

"I have to. Not just for William but... I can't make a decent life for myself, with the way women are regarded here! This is no place for me." He nodded.

"I understand. I have always believed it is the women who are superior, although no one else sees it. Do women rule over men in the future?"

"No. But we are considered equals. I suppose we know how it feels to be oppressed, so the desire to oppress others is gone." Elizabeth opened a window, then looked back at the elderly inventor.

"I'm really going to miss you, Nikola. I'd offer to make you with me but..." Tesla shyly smiled a bit.

"As much as I would like to see the future, I do not believe that would be an advisable idea. I will miss you as well though, Doctor Bradford."

As she typed the destination, Tesla's pigeon flew in and landed on her shoulder. Nikola whistled and the bird flew to his hand, cooing at him.

"She wishes you luck. As do I."

"Thank you. But before I go..." She took out the remaining money from the time period. She offered it to Tesla, who looked surprised.

"No, no, no! I cannot accept this from you!"

"It's the least I can do after all you've done to help me. And if I succeed or fail, I won't need any of this either way. Please, take it!" He reluctantly did, then be silently watched her. Elizabeth swung her legs over the edge of the window, a very difficult feat with the flowing skirt of her blue dress. She clutched the device tethered to her, she closed her eyes, and fell through.

The wind roared in her ears, almost drowning out the city noise. She was three quarters away from the ground when the device chirped and the button turned green. She pressed the button. The light only blinked, the rest of the machine made an alarming crackling sound.

"No! Come on, work! Dammit!!" The hard pavement and the streets were even closer by the second. The next thing she knew she was only a few feet above the traffic. She heard cars honking. And screaming also, but mostly from herself. At the last second the device turned green again. She pressed the button. The last thing she could see was her entire life flashing before her eyes. The last thing she envisioned was William, leaning against the edge of the Devon Tower balcony. Strangely, his back was hunched over, he hid his face in his hands. He looked in pain, his entire body convulsed repeatedly the same way someone would when they were crying. She didn't like it at all. She wasn't quite sure what happened after she pressed the button, as she was too disoriented.

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November 9th, 2016

1:03 pm

Elizabeth jumped over the edge of the balcony. William and the others clambered to the edge, to find her spread eagled figure growing smaller and smaller as she plummeted to the ground. William inwardly winched at her terrified scream, and silently prayed that she would live. Then, there was a bright purple flash of light, and she was gone. The men and woman around him cheered. He was relieved, and he started to wait eagerly for Elizabeth to come back. After a minute, he saw Amy check her watch.

"Elizabeth should be back by now..." She said, a little anxiously. The celebration soon turned into tense silence as time went on with Elizabeth still not present. Suddenly, the door opened. William turned quick as lightning. But instead of the woman he loved, he saw a short, stout man in a navy blue uniform of sorts. He held an envelope and a clipboard.

"Miss...Smith?" He asked. Amy stepped forward, stupefied.

"Yes?" He handed her the envelope. William could see that it was yellowed with age, and their exact location and time was written across it in very familiar writing. He did not have a good feeling about this.

"Here. This letter was in the system for 75 years. There was a request to send this to an Amelia Smith, in this exact location and time. We were betting on whether or not anyone'd be here. Looks like I lost." He laughed. No one else did. He sobered up and handed Amy a clipboard. She signed, gave it back to him, then opened the envelope.

"There are two letters here. Colonel, this one's for you." He took the paper from her, and went inside with it. He sat down at a desk and began to read.

 _William,_

 _I am alive, and completely unharmed. I'm currently in New York, 1941. I'm writing this letter because there is a problem with the time travel device. It broke as I was being transported. I narrowed the problem down to my body mass, and how far in time and space I went. Those factors caused too much strain on the machine. I should have seen the dangers earlier. There's no one to blame but me._

 _I'm writing this letter not only to warn you about that, but also because there's a chance I'll never see you again. I will fight tooth and nail to come back to you but, in case I fail... I just want you to know that you have completely changed my life for the better. Even though we've known each other a short while, I can't remember any times that I was happier before you came into my life. I love you. And even if it turns out we won't spend our lives with each other, I will never forget you._

 _Forever yours,_

 _Elizabeth_

It took him about ten minutes to read it. Elizabeth's penmanship was one of the worst he's ever seen, and what appeared to be old tear stains smudged the writing in the second paragraph. He'd read the text back and forth, almost unable to process. But the message was painfully clear. She was stranded 75 years in the past. Either she is elderly or she's perished. There is no way she could have fixed the machine, otherwise she would be back already.

He folded the letter, a few tears started to form in his eyes. No. William Tavington does not cry. The last time he cried from loss was when his mother passed. That was when he was a small child, but now he was a hardened soldier. Desensitized from years of fighting and loss. He would not cry, especially not with his men and fellow officer present. His pain was replaced with fury.

He quickly stood up and went to Amy that was at the balcony.

"You! You irresponsible, mad, stupid little--" He was cut off by the Captain, his large frame blocked his view of Smith.

"Colonel, calm down, it wasn't-- it wasn't even her fault!"

"You have used that excuse for her before, step aside!" Wilkins did not. He stood fast and glared at his former commander. Tavington peeked behind him to glimpse at the terrified expression of the woman that the Captain was protecting, and let out a dark, mocking laugh.

"I see. Your loyalty has always been your weakness, Captain. Always fighting the battles of others, always blindly trailing behind like a dog. Quite useful when you were serving me, nevertheless... When will you finally stop following others and act like a man!" Tavington hissed.

Wilkins's face filled with rage, a vein nearly popped out of his forehead.

"I'd gladly stand up for a thousand years against heartless, temperamental _bastards_ such as you! I should have done so back when you tried to kidnap Martin's children! I should have done so at the church! I have committed ... _horrible_ sins under your order, but no longer will I stand by!" James bellowed, stalking closer to Tavington. Banastre approached both of them.

"And if you did protest at the time, I would have had you hanged for treason! So why did you not simply leave? Ah yes, your undying loyalty to King and Country. How do you feel now... seeing how the sins the lot of us committed were in vain?"

Wilkins faltered. Unseen in the corner of the room, was a very frightened Amelia Smith who stared after James in shock.

Banastre started to speak to Tavington in a bored, uncaring voice.

"I realize that you are angry about losing Elizabeth, but it was in fact she who volunteered to leave. No need to tear into Doctor Smith, or Captain Wilkins for that matter."

"Shut up Tarleton!" Tavington shouted.

"Or what?" Ban shouted back. "A vengeful tirade will not change the fact that you and Elizabeth can't sleep together anymore." He spat bitterly, his jealousy crept back in. William seethed. Banastre continued.

"Yes. I saw the pair of you together. It was so sickeningly sweet, all one of you had to do was say the other's name in your sleep and I very well may have vomited. What she sees in you, I will never know! But perhaps all is not as it appears. For she knows how much of a monster you are, she has experienced it first hand. Perhaps there was a reason she decided to dissappear instead of allowing Amelia to!"

With a roar, William delivered a powerful blow to the right side of his face. Using his stunned state, he knocked the man down completely. Amy ran back in to try and break up the fighting, but Wilkins's strong arms wrapped around her and held her back. He knew that if she got involved, she could be seriously harmed. The pair punched, blocked, and toppled on top of each other. Finally, Tavington pinned Tarelton down, still enraged. He delivered blow after blow, bellowing at Banastre, who was currently stunned and bleeding on the floor.

"You dare! You were jealous the entire time you've been here! SHE LOVED ME! No one has ever loved me but her, and now she's gone! She's -- gone..." He slowed to a stop. He knelt frozen above the redhead, wearily panting. An inhuman noise escaped from his chest, what seemed to be a mixture of a gasp and a sob. His chest was tight and spasming, he felt moisture on his face that he presumed to be blood. The man below him was bruised and bloodied in all sorts of places. He got off of him, breathing heavily.

Wilkins and Amy silently stood by as bytanders, then they efficently dragged a very defeated Tarleton into the elevator and left William alone. He slowly went to the edge of the balcony, watching the people on the ground. He was truly lost now. His old life ended in Cowpens, and his new life ended with the disappearance of Elizabeth. He wiped some of the blood off his cheek with his fingers. But when he looked at it, he saw that the fluid was clear. Tears. Blast it all. He gritted his teeth, but more came out anyways. He looked all around him to find that there was no one around to witness, then, he buried his head in his hands. The wall that he had built up over the years crumbled into dust and despair. He wept in a most ungentlemanly manner, looking down into a world that was unknowing and uncaring of the struggles from a man lost in time.

 **Awww, poor Tavington. Is Elizabeth still alive? Can William ever find happiness? Will Ban ever stop being an asshole? Do you guys hate me yet? I still don't own the rights to the Patriot. Being able to mess with the emotions of fictional characters is already too much power!**


	28. Reunion

**Hey guys, sorry for not updating in a while, things have been pretty busy**! **Anyway, I'm back now!** **But please, take this nice, long, gratuitously fluffy chapter as a token of apology.**

 _I'll take that as you choosing me then!"_

 _William smiled at Elizabeth. He was slowly falling asleep now, but the woman could see a small gleam in his otherwise glassy, unfocused eyes. She gently laid him down on the couch, grabbing blankets and a large pillow from a nearby storage basket. After removing his boots and stockings, she settled down next to him and felt his lips lazily make their way across her jaw and neck._

 _"You-- are-- absolutely-- beautiful." He slurred between kisses. "Oh, the things I want to do with you..." Elizabeth chuckled._

 _"We'll have time for all that later. Right now you're drugged and exhausted." She whispered, amused. She was even more amused when he narrowed his eyes at her, half pouting._

 _"I am not." He declared like a stubborn child, although he was weakly supporting his head on the pillow and struggling to keep his eyes open._

 _"Sure, sure. We're still gonna wait though." Elizabeth chuckled as she piled blankets on top of both of them and entwined her limbs with his. She reached behind his head and slowly removed his queue, loosening his long chocolate brown hair. William melted at the touch, softly_ _groaning at the feel of Elizabeth's fingers toying with his hair._

 _With his_ _eyes fully closed now, and his slightly parted lips, he looked peaceful, almost adorable even. She smiled and kissed his forehead and watched him drift off to sleep._

 _"I love you William,"_ _Elizabeth whispered before sleep overcame her as well._

Elizabeth groaned as her head cleared and she became less disoriented. She thought for sure she was dead, as everything went black just before she collided with the roof of someone's car. But she opened her eyes and saw that she was standing in front of the Chesapeake Arena, just a few block away from the Devon Tower. Well, a very blurry version of it, as she appeared to have lost her glasses somewhere down the fall.

"I made it!" She leaped and let out a little shout, not caring about the people nearby giving her weird looks. Then her eyes widened and her mouth gaped when she remembered the letters. She had to get to the Devon Tower asap. The poor nearsighted woman started to make her way down there.

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1:25 pm

Amy and the soldiers wearily rested in the ground floor of the building, without Tavington. The trio were the only ones in there, a tense silence filled the air and threatened to consume them. Finally James broke it.

"What do we do now?" He asked Amelia.

The woman was too far gone to respond. She simply stared at a bit of space in front of her with glassy eyes. The rest of her body, normally still and calm, now displayed her silent turmoil as she restlessly figeted with everything around her; the leather seat she was perched upon, her pants, her purple bow tie, and most particularly Doctor Bradford's note that she had unfolded, reread, and refolded what must have been a hundred times.

James silently got up from his own seat to join her. Banastre leaned against a wall with his arms crossed. He still had blood and bruises on him, and both of his eyes were almost swollen shut.

"And why, exactly, are we loitering here?" Tarleton demanded, causing Amy to glare up at him. Of course _that_ of all things made her snap out of it.

"I'm trying to figure out my next move, and we're waiting for William to calm down after all the horrible things you said to him." He scoffed, and walked up to her. He kneeled in front of her, his brow raised.

"Yes, and you are quite welcome for that. If it wasn't for my intervention, I am certain he would have killed you. After all, I'm not the poor soul that sent his lady love away, my dear. In case you've forgotten." Wilkins cleared his throat and sent a hard glare at Tarleton's bloodied face. The captain's arms found themselves wrapped protectively around the thin woman.

"Sir, Elizabeth was Amelia's friend, not just Tavington's lover. I don't believe she really meant for this to happen, and making her feel worse about the situation is not going to help anything." Banastre slowly stood up all the way, his face was equally hard.

"Is that any way to speak to a superior officer, Captain?" James stood up now.

"I am just as prepared to challenge you as I was with Tavington, sir." He responded politely, but with a forcefulness that expressed his resolve. Banastre scoffed, but decided to say no more about it. Only because he felt weary. He had already lost one brawl, and _certainly_ felt the effects of it. Also, he too grieved over Elizabeth, despite what his behavior told the others. He silently slunk to the men's restroom to wash up and mostly to be alone for a while.

Sighing, James sat back down. The pair sat together for what felt like hours. The silence threatened to consume them until finally, Amelia couldn't take it anymore.

"Elizabeth was one of the few people that would put up with me," she began in a pensieve whisper. James looked on at her in pity.

"She was always unfailingly kind, able to see the good in all kinds of people. Even me. I usually tend to drive people away sometimes, but she was never perturbed. Probably because she was pretty quirky herself. That's why she was my friend. And now she is gone... because of me." She was on the verge of tears now, the captain put his hand on her shoulder. He was at a loss of what to do when Amy broke down completely however. She buried her face in her hands, he put his arms around her sobbing frame.

"I know it's m-my fault. You don't ha-ve to k-keep sticking up for me. I-it's a-alw-ways my fa-ault... It won' be long before I l-lose e-veryone else." She poured her heart out in between sobs and sniffles.

Wilkins was at a loss of what to do. He generally had little experience with women, and had no idea what to do when one was crying! Particularly Amelia Smith, as the Captain previously assumed she didn't really have it in her to lose it all together! Unfortunately, all he could initially manage to do was helplessly glance at her and shift uncomfortably in his seat. Then, Wilkins slowly drew her closer, beginning to get a little more comfortable. She was too distraught to react and continued to grieve.

"But you're not alone Mia... I'm not going anywhere. You still have me, and Bordon as well. We'll help you get through this." James crooned, trying to soothe her. He could barely make out what she was unintelligibly blubbering out now, her voice was muffled by her hands and the crook of his neck burying her face. Something about him and Bordon only tolerating her.

"You really think I only 'tolerate' you? What then, have I been doing all of this for?" He gently tugged her closer to him to make his point. She didn't react. With a sigh, he drew his head back and gently peeled her hands away to gaze into her tearstained, bloodshot eyes. Those eyes did not meet his however, but remained trained to the floor below her.

"My god, I don't believe that I would act so fondly towards someone I just put up with. Quite honestly, you have captivated me since the day we've met. Although you do odd things and I don't understand most of the things that you say... Elizabeth was not the only one around here who cares for you, of that I am certain."

Amelia still wept, but not as uncontrollably as before. She only stared after him in disbelief for a few moments.

"... Really?" She breathed. A short puff of laughter escaped James despite himself, his face slowly incing closer to hers.

He said no more however, he much preferred to show his affection. And so, gently tilting Amelia's chin up, James softly pressed his lips against hers. It was not a romantic kiss, as James could feel the effects of Amelia's sorrow. Still, as she slowly started to respond to his tender yet insistent touch, the bond between them began to contain a sweet intimacy that brought her some comfort. James tilted his head to one side and cradled the back of her head to gain better access, she tightly clung onto him as if he'd disappear if she let go. The bond grew stronger as the kissing deepened and James was lost within the world he now shared with her. He didn't even realize that the cause of Mia's grief was clumsily creeping along the street until--

"Ouch!" An exclamation and a loud bang from the glass door startled the pair and dragged them back to reality. He was quite shocked to find that the culprit was a very dazed Miss Bradford, one hand clutching her forehead, the other searching in vain for the handle. At least... he thought it was Bradford. She was quite unrecognizable wearing a proper dress, curled hair, and makeup. In addition, those thick spectacles she normally wore were missing. Perhaps that was why she has apparently collided with the door! Of course, he and Amelia were so busy gawking in shock and disbelief, they did not think to get up and help her. Or even move from their close embrace.

Finally, with her eyes squinted into slits, Elizabeth managed to pull the door open then she blindly (and very comically) shuffled into the waiting area. It was then that Amelia found her voice, though she was still frozen in place.

"Elizabeth, you're alive!" The blonde quickly turned her head towards where she heard her friend's voice and all but leapt towards it.

"Yes! Uugh--" She stopped in her tracks when her left leg struck a chair. With a grimace, she clumsily sidestepped and shuffled towards James and Amy more carefully. All the while she was talking- very, very quickly.

"That was graceful... But yeah I'm--I'm still alive. Suprised? So am I! Seriously though, I am really sorry about that scare with the letters and..."

Her words fizzled out as she got closer and noticed how closely Amy and Wilkins were both sitting. She squinted her eyes again, and saw their arms were entwined around each other.

"...Am I interrupting something?"

Amelia disentangled herself from Wilkins and stood up. Then the taller woman did something incredibly rare-- she gathered her friend in a tight bear hug.

"I was so afraid that I lost you." Amy whispered. "From now on, I'll be the only one who tests out my inventions, okay?"

"I agree. And I missed you too... Tesla reminded me of you, but it wasn't quite the same."

Amy grabbed her shoulders and pulled her an arm's length away.

"You met Tesla?"

"Yeah, he helped me fix the machine." Elizabeth displayed the device, that was still in decent shape.

"I'll tell you all about him, but first I have to see if William's okay too."

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The elevator trip took a few seconds, thankfully giving Elizabeth a chance to catch her breath. The metal doors opened when she reached the top floor, and she slowly and carefully wandered, winching at the blistering pain in her feet.

"William?" She called. She turned her head and found him at the balcony, behind the glass doors. As she got closer, she noticed how he was standing hunched over, and how his back convulsed. She opened one door and she could hear his painful sobs and sniffles. His back was turned, and he didn't notice her yet, although her footsteps were quite loud. She guessed that it had something to do with how distraught he was.

She was right behind him now. She put one hand on his back.

"Will?" He quickly turned around. She could see that his piercing eyes were red and puffy, his face was filled with vulnerability that was so unlike the usually fierce Dragoon. He looked... broken. It hurt her to see just how much pain her disappearance caused him. His eyes widened in disbelief when he took in her reappearance.

"Beth?" He whispered, his voice filled with hope. She nodded, and gave him a tight hug around his waist.

"Yes. Yes. I'm so sorry William, I shouldn't have went until I was certain it was foolproof. I was so scared, and, and I almost died! I fell off one of the tallest buildings in America and the device nearly failed. I was feet away from the ground and... God, it was horrible!" She was so caught up in emotion now, tears started leaking out of her eyes.

William said nothing, but he returned her embrace. She was crying into his chest now, and she could feel that he was still sobbing too. They stayed like that for a while, until they were both breathing normally. Elizabeth felt safe with him holding her and she didn't want that feeling to go away, but she knew they had to let go sometime. When the pair pulled away, William linked arms with her and lead her to the elevator. After a while he merely studied her face, then he broke the silence.

"Where are your glasses, anyway?" Elizabeth shrugged.

"Somewhere in the 20th century, I guess."

"I liked them, they enhanced your beauty." William commented with a sigh, trying to play with her curls and frowning to himself at its hard, hairsprayed texture. Elizabeth smirked to herself.

"Yeah, they really enhanced yours when I wore them too. But I'll get new ones. Preferably sooner rather than later. I can't even read that poster!"

She gestured towards a red 'Bricktown' poster that was displayed a mere four feet away. William smiled, amused now.

"My god, your sight is bad! In the meantime, I suppose I will just have to be your eyes."

The pair reached the ground floor and the elevator opened. Tavington offered his arm for Elizabeth to take. The girl smiled and turned red.

"Yeah, I'm good with that." She murmured as she linked arms with him.


	29. Bloody Ban the Biker Man

**Hello everyone, I'm back with another long chapter** **, this time checking up on Banastre and his various problems with life. Most of this chapter was actually in the original version and I liked it so much I wanted to make it fit in this version.** ( **This is probably also the chapter you've been waiting to see again Miss1780) I hope you enjoy Tarleton's shenanigans as much as I do.**

Saturday, Novenber 21, 2016

4:00 PM

Banastre sat alone at a table in a diner, it was one of those rare occasions where he did not bother to talk to those around him, he didn't even flirt with the rather attractive waitress that attended him! He just sat, silent and perturbed with a half empty beer bottle in one hand.

Banastre bitterly gazed all around him at the other patrons of the restaraunt-- a few families, groups of carefree friends, and pairs upon pairs of young and in love couples. The place was scarce of other lone stragglers such as he. Now that Wilkins, Tavington, Elizabeth, and Smith are all still cross with him, and Bordon-- well, he's simply occupied with other things now-- Banastre has been left with few other options then to have supper alone, with the twenty 'dollars' that Doctor Smith let him have.

Of course, Tarleton knew damn well that he only had himself to blame for alienating the only people that were not strangers in this foreign land! And, before, he would have had no trouble at all replacing their company, but it was an entirely different matter in the 21st century. The many times he's been rebuffed... honestly, how could people get away with being so very rude?

He quickly lifted his head at a very raucous hum outside. He abandoned his drink, threw some money on the counter, and ventured outside to investigate. He found the source of the noise, and it absolutely took his breath away.

A trio of men wearing leather rushed into the parking area straddled on machines that Banastre could only liken to metal horses. They moved fast, faster than Ban could have ever dreamed of traveling on any living moumt. He watched, mesmerised as the tough gang of men parked in formation, moving as one. Banastre gaped at the shine on the metal vehicles, he felt his heart race and instantly he fell in love.

He approached one of the riders, an older man with a towering build, and a black cloth tied on his head that covered his balding gray hair. He also wore a black leather jacket that had the letters 'BACA,' whatever that meant, sewn on it in big white letters. Despite the man's intimidating appearance, he seemed to possessed a laid back demeanor and regarded Tarleton with a nod of the head as soon as they were within talking distance. That was enough to put Banastre at ease.

"My good man! Forgive me, but I am curious. What exactly are those?" Ban pointed at his metal horse. The eloquence that he presented himself with was a stark contrast to the rural setting around him, which caused the stranger raise both brows and blink down at him for a moment before he recovered.

"They're Harleys. Y'ain't got bikes in whatev'r country yer from, stranger?" The gentleman responded. His gravelly voice rumbled from his chest then left his mouth in a manner that was very gruff. Ban shook his head, eying the lustrous black metal in awe.

"I'm afraid not. They are quite impressive."

"Hey Bear! You comin' or what?" One of the other men called from the entrance of the tavern.

"J'st a minute Rooster, I'm talking to m' buddy o'er h're!" The man answered with a guttural shout. Then he regarded the smaller man once again.

"Y' got a name, 'feriner?"

"Banastre Tarleton." The man gazed at him with disbelief, then began to bark and wheeze in laughter.

"Lak-- lak pert --of a staircase?" Ban coughed, glancing around him awkwardly while "Bear" slowly but surely began to quiet.

"I-I suppose, yes. Many people over the years have had quite the challenge spelling my name, that is certain. Most simply call me Ban for-- ahem, obvious reasons."

A deep chuckle rumbled from Bear's chest.

"Well, alrighty then, Ban, d'you wanna eat wit us? Most of the time I wouldn't offer, but it'd be a shame to be alone after comin'all the way to the middle o' this country." Banastre promptly thanked him and they both went inside the diner.

Banastre got along surprisingly well with the band of bikers. He told them about his time in the war, conveniently leaving out that it was in the 1700s. He also told them some aspects of his life in England, in particular he boasted and jested with them about his various exploits with the opposite sex. The latter part seemed to be the things that made him the most popular.

"Y'know, man?" One biker, 'Road Rash,' drunkenly slurred. "Fer a f'renier, you're a'ight. Ya oughta ride wit us!" Although his rural accent was so thick that Ban had trouble understanding him, the others did not seem to have such trouble. The bikers all murmured in agreement. The auburn haired man gave them his signature grin.

"Unfortunately, I know not how." The gang glanced at one another, a soft clamour rose among them. Then they all but led Banastre out to the parking lot and said something to him about teaching him.

Being the quick learner that he usually was, it was a mere few hours before he was speeding up and down the empty road.

"Hey 'Rash!" Bear roared at the scrawny, drunken man to his right that dangerously tilted a few ways too far to one side. "Y' better quit ridin' b'fore you earn yer name all over a'gain!"

Road Rash succeeded, albeit in a very sloppy, unstable manner, to pull over to the side of the road and stop riding. Banastre quickly passed him and took his place in the front. He rode faster with the others, relishing the feel of the wind billowing through his clothes, onto his face, and the hair what was not restricted by the thick helmet he wore. To say that Banastre was enjoying himself would be an understatement. How he missed sitting astride his horse and experiencing the trill of the speed and the hunt! But no, this was infinitely better, for the motorcycle that he mounted on rode far faster and smoother. Tarleton was not riding anymore; he was flying.

Eventually though, the fun had to come to an end when the biker gang prepared to depart after they had their own fill of various fried delicacies. Bear clapped Tarleton on the back as they lazily sauntered away from the diner.

The dragoon looked out at the sun, that grew ever closer to the horizon.

"I am afraid I must leave now as well. I have a long way to go." Banastre dismissed himself with a good-bye and began to make his trek four blocks and nearly a whole university campus away. Really, what was he thinking venturing so far and staying until it was nearly dark? He did not get past the parking lot however, before Bear's booming yell stopped him.

"Wait a minute! Yer gonna walk all the way to the other side o' town in the dark? Just take my bike man, now that I think about it I'd better take _him_ home!" Bear grabbed Road Rash by the back of his jacket collar when he stumbled past and attempted to mount his own bike.

Banastre nodded, thanking him and made his way to the giant's black bike. He straddled the seat, and grinned wickedly at the roar of its engine. He waved a farewell to his new acquaintances, backed out of the lot, and traveled to Doctor Smith's home in a quarter of the time it would take by foot, whooping like a madman all the way. Bear's normally quiet second gawked after the dragoon and stood frozen in his tracks. However, he eventually did find his voice, albeit it was as uneloquent and nasal as usual.

"Hey Bear?"

"Yeah Rooster?"

"Don't ye think that maybe givin' him that bike might just have been a bad idea?"

"I reckon it might be." Bear shrugged, and said no more about it. He just dragged Road Rash closer to his own bike and started to place both of them upon it. Rooster shook his head and clapped his hands to his sides.

"But you know you ain't never seeing that pretty motercycle again, right??"

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James sat upon a large, cushioned desk chair, holding Amelia close to him as she sat upon his lap. Her head rested upon his chest, he felt her voice vibrate against his chest as she continued to instruct him how to play a game called 'Universe Sandbox' on the computer. The screen displayed the Planet Earth in the middle of space and the speakers softly played ambient music as they 'Played God with the cosmos,' how the Captain put it.

"What do I do now?"

"If you add hydrogen to Earth, you can turn it into a star. Or you can add an asteroid or another celestial body nearby to collide with the planet."

"How very destructive! I'd like to turn it into a star. How do I add the..."

"Hydrogen."

"Hydrogen?"

"First click on earth, then click on the add button on the control panel."

"Alright..." Soon the gorgeous blue, green, and white planet turned into a brilliant ball of gas on the computer screen."

"It appears to pull other objects with it!" The Captain exclaimed.

"It is! Since it's bigger, it's gravitational pull is stronger. If it gets big enough it will trap it's own light, and it will become a black hole." James made more hydrogen appear in space, and watched it go into the star.

"It's not getting any bigger."

"It will reach a maximum amount in the game, so you can't make a black hole that way. I already tried." She remarked with a disappointed voice. She heard the door open, then turned her head and saw Tarleton come in. M.A.R.S. approached him and offered his metal hand for him to take anything to the closet.

"I do not require help, metal beast." The Colonel said to him in a clipped tone. The robot replied with an electronic whine and a bump on the man's shin. Then it slunk off as he cursed.

"You'll get along better with him if you were less rude to him. It may save you from all of the bruises on your leg." With an exasperated sigh, he regarded the woman.

"Or you can alter its behavior so that it is less touchy. But no matter. Where is Major Bordon? I have barely seen anything of him these past few days."

"None of us have, except for the lady he's...well, I can't say it because..." Wilkins eyed Amelia who took over the game for him and was now watching a galaxy collision play out. She didn't seem to pay attention enough to know what they were talking about until--

"They are likely engaged in a duet of _some_ sort. The only question is if the nature of the duet itself is musical or sexual." She bluntly added in a matter of fact, emotionless tone.

The two men gazed at her silently once again. She never failed to befuddle James with her unpredictable nature.

"Uh...I suppose, yes." Wilkins blushed, the word itself uttered from Mia's lips rattled within his mind. Sexual. Never before has he heard a woman so comfortably regard such a subject that so many others were careful to delicately tread over!

"Anyway..." Amelia continued, quite oblivious to the effect that she had upon Wilkins. "I have put it off these past few days, but I feel that it is an important topic. I inspected the repairs that Elizabeth and Tesla made on the time travel device. Although the surfaces of it are damaged, the overall mechanics are perfectly functional. Clearly Nikola did a much better job than I ever could." Amelia paused in a moment of bitter silence before continuing.

"But what I wanted to ask, Banastre, is whether or not you wished to stay here or return to your own time. I already know about Tavington and Bordon, I'm sure that James wants to stay behind as well--"

"That's right." James cut in as he gently squeezed Amelia tighter to him. Tarleton's mouth twisted to one side of his face and his eyes narrowed at the sight of Wilkins behaving like a lovestruck schoolboy. Tarleton's bitterness from earlier crept back in, extinguishing all thoughts of flight and freedom.

"... I am really not so sure at all if I want to remain in the 21st century, actually. I have given it much thought recently, and I realize that there is not a place for me here."

Amelia nodded, then she stood up.

"I understand. You really have not seemed to be enjoying yourself here recently, so I wanted to make sure. However..." Amelia reached under her desk and pulled out something that made Banastre's eyes nearly bug out-- the History textbook he kept hidden with his other belongings!

"I wouldn't suggest that you take this."

"What-- what are you talking about? Why were you looking through my things?"

"I didn't find it, blame him!" Amelia declared, pointing downward at the flashing metal rubbage bin by her feet who appeared to be _very_ pleased with himself. Tarleton all but glowered down at it only to be met with a tinny series of notes that sounded unmistakably like laughter.

"You must know the kind of affects that you can have on the future if you attempt to alter the timeline. There are either two outcomes that come to mind. The first one I like to call the 'River Theory,' because it suggests that the main course of history will remain the same no matter what one does to change it. But the second outcome-- that one is much worse!"

Amelia jumped to a whiteboard and began to draw a line diagram. Tarleton had to suppress a loud groan. If he had known that going home meant he had to listen to another one of Doctor Smith's boring, drawn out lectures, he would have literally camped out in the cushioned red booth in the corner of the tavern. Nevermind the fact that it stank of lard and old ale!

"Now, say that this straight line is the original timeline, and the red line that deviates from it is an alternate timeline. We know that in the original Britain loses the war, but-- hey, hey! Where are you going?"

In the middle of her tangent, with as much dignity as he could muster, Banastre promptly walked out. Amelia watched him, stunned into silence for a few moments.

"Well I didn't expect to be able to convince him so quickly! He must have gone down to Elizabeth's place to apologize for taking her book."

Tarleton stopped in his tracks beforebhe reached the stairs and cursed rather loudly. He left the textbook behind, and he still did not know the information he needed! (Well, it was a big book, he did not feel like reading or retaining all of it!) So he boldly stormed back in, snatched it from its spot on top of the desk, and marched out.

"... He even wanted to return it too her, I really am good!"

James cradled his forehead in his palm and shook his head.

"Mia, jut in case he'll need _more_ convincing you may want to tell Elizabeth about this problem."

"Oh, you think so?"

"Absolutely!" James burst out all too eagerly. "That is... Tarleton is a very stubborn man. Many things that people tell him usually go in one ear and out of the other. But if more than one person tells him the same thing..." James trailed off, his point was made.

"Yeah, you're right."


	30. Of Chess and Speculations

With Elizabeth's face a mere few feet away from William's, she gazed up at him expectantly. His focus was on her grey eyes, two miniature storms dancing with passion and anticipation. This activity they were participating in, although quite new and unfamiliar to the woman at first, seemed to bring out this passionate side in her the more he educated her. The air between them was thick and filled and filled with electricity as a rakish grin spread across his face. His hand reached forward, knowing exactly what to do next.

William moved his final rook further away from him on the chess board, eliminating her bishop. Perhaps three losses in a row will cause her to give up. Of course they both know it won't. She likes the challenge far too much.

He watched her intently from across the table as she studied all possible moves, then her face lit up and he realized his fatal mistake. Elizabeth took out his King with her Knight, grinning triumphantly.

"Checkmate, I finally won! Look at that! You went easy on me, didn't you?" She pointed her finger at the board, wild and animated. William shook his head, completely honest.

"I haven't. It seems that the student has surpassed the teacher. Congratulations. I still cannot believe that you have never played this game before!" He gave her a little smile and a nod, she grinned back.

"I guess I was just too busy before." She shrugged. "But it's nice to know it's possible to actually beat 'The Butcher' at chess."

"Simply beginner's luck!"

"Eh, maybe. I guess we'll see later on!" The woman's mouth spread to one side in a defiant grin and her shoulder rolled up and down at her declaration, like a cat preparing to pounce on her prey. This animated display earned a light chuckle from Tavington.

"Perhaps. But not today.You certainly are quite the competitive one, aren't you?" He teased as they began to put the chess pieces back into the box.

"Yeah. I've never been known to refuse a good battle of wits. I find that I can learn a lot from them, and they're very stimulating. And now that I have a good sparring partner..." She responded in a light, playful tone.

"You intend to turn me into one of those intellectuals that loiter in the many classrooms and laboratories of the science building." He replied with a smirk, and he leaned across the table to give her a chase kiss. As usual, he earned a blush and a bashful grin when he pulled away.

"Well, you're already an intellectual. You're halfway there, man." She replied, breathless from the contact. Even with her knowledge, she was still quite inexperienced with other forms of stimulation. He secretly hoped that the time for him to rectify that would be soon. When she felt ready, of course.

They moved to the sofa in the sitting room after their game was put away and forgotten on the table. Elizabeth captured his lips in another kiss, deeper this time, and her hands roamed over his neck and back. He pulled her closer to him, caressing her skin.

There was a knock at the door. With a sigh, he pulled away from her as she went to go answer it. He rolled his eyes up at the sky, irritated at the interruption.

"Don't worry, I promise we'll continue this bogus teenage makeout session... as soon as I get rid of whoever's at the door!"

William's brow furrowed at this unfamiliar choice of words Elizabeth used, but he decided not to question it as he watched her place a stepping stool in front of her door. It was a rather comical sight really, Elizabeth having to teeter on top of the furniture simply to peek out of the little hole in the door. She stepped back on the ground and swiftly kicked the stool aside, it landed with a 'thump' while she opened the door.

William's features turned into stone to conceal his irritation, for it was Doctor Smith who interrupted! If the caller was a stranger then there would have been a better chance of Elizabeth getting rid of them quickly, but alas! He watched the pair with hooded eyes and arms that crosses over his chest, his impatience very nearly got the better of him. However, he was quite satisfied to see the rather hesitant smile that Elizabeth has given her friend. Although she was to remain polite, she was clearly rather disappointed at the interruption as well.

"Uh, hey Amy! Funny seeing you this time of day..." Elizabeth trailed off looking at her watch. "Well, _night_ by now. Um, w-ww-what can I help you with?"

At this question delivered in a rather flustered manner, Amelia shifted uncomfortably, especially after she spotted Tavington watching expectantly behind Elizabeth.

"I was just wondering if Banastre came by here. A while ago he left my place in a bit of a... rage, I guess."

"Uh, okay. Well, I haven't seen him..." Elizabeth began slowly, uncertainty crept in her voice and all over her face. "I wouldn't worry though. He's definitely a hothead, but he won't do anything bad. Hopefully."

"He's wanting to, that's what I wanted to tell you! He stole your history book and he intends to take it with him to the past. He got angry when I found out and went to confront him about it."

"Ohhhhhh..."

The girl's eyes squinted and her mouth gaped open, as though she had something to say that simply would not come out. After a moment though, she promptly snapped it shut.

"Hmm. Of course he did. Amidst all of the other stuff that's been going on we didn't really explain the effects of trying to change the past. I'll talk to him when he turns up. I mean, he can't have gone far, he doesn't have the timepiece!"

Amy tilted her head with her lips pursed in contemplation.

"Yeah. I guess the only thing we can do about it now is wait. I'll go back home then. Thanks."

With that, Amelia disappeared behind the door. William and Elizabeth gazed back at each other now that they were once again alone, but they found that the mood had been killed. She was more concerned about Tarleton and his antics than she let on and he, well... he sensed that tension that hung in the air around her, a cloud of moody silence and pensiveness within her stormy irises. The realization that this level of concern she felt was for Talreton left him with jealousy raging in the pit of his stomach.

"Wherever he is, I hope he doesn't get into trouble..." He heard Elizabeth murmur to herself and a spark of irritation flared within him.

"I am sure he'll be fine. He is a grown man after all, and he is more than capable of taking care of himself." He responded calmly, but with a stern, tense undertone that suggested she does not argue. "Let's not speak about him anymore, hmm?"

Elizabeth shrugged and gave a little nod, signifying that the conversation had ended. However, her face dropped even lower when she heard that godawful smartphone of hers go off. He has eventually come to hate that device, wonderful as it capabilities were, as it usually heralded bad news for her, and by extension bad news for him as well. Such was the case in this incident apparantly. He attentively watched Elizabeth listened to the person on the other line. Her forehead wrinkled, her eyes widened in shock, and her already small body closed in on itself as much as possible, as if to protect her from some invisible entity. When she spoke, it was in that same trembling, uncertain voice that overtook her whenever she was nervous or generally disturbed in any way.

"Ohhh... Is-- is he o-okay?" Her unladen hand reached up to run through her tresses, her fist finally closed around one section as an anchor of sorts.

"He--he has? Thank you... f-for le-etting me know, that is! Uh, I'll be there as quick as it can." Elizabeth finished quickly in a hushed tone, putting away her phone. Her distressed eyes met his concerned ones, but before he could ask the question that already lay thick in the air, she answered it.

"Banastre's in the hospital. He's hurt pretty bad... I need to go check on him."

William scoffed. "Must you really?"

"Yes!" Elizabeth turned to him. "I know you don't like him, and I think he's a bit of an ass too. But... I believe it's a different thing entirely to just leave him alone in there. I've been in a few hospitals by myself and..." Elizabeth paused, her eyes trained themselves down on the ground, before she continued slowly. "Uhhh... Well, it's never a pleasant experience, I can tell you that."

William blinked. As irritated as he was, he found that he could not argue now after her unexpectedly vulnerable admission. Nor did he believe he could convince her not to simply abandon Tarleton simply because of his dislike.

"I see. Well... let me know how it goes then, I have no desire to see him."

Elizabeth smiled at him now, grabbing her keys before she approached him again, stood on her toes, and gave him a chaste kiss on his cheek after he bent down to make up for the height difference.

"Thank you. Anyway, the visiting hours are almost over it think, so I will be back shortly."

 **Hello! I know, It's been forever since you've seen me on here! I can explain... but I've decided not to since I'm tired of consistently giving you guys excuses instead of real, actual work. So I'm back, with some idea of what I am doing here... for a change.**


	31. The Hospital

After Elizabeth's nearly two and a half hour long drive in crowded traffic, she reached the building. Even with directions from the front desk, she still nearly got lost in the labrynth of hallways that somehow maintained a bleak atmoshpere despite their pristine white appearances. As she got nearer to her destination, the more nervous and tense she became.

She even forgot her irritation at him for what he's done! ... after she got the phone call. As annoyed as she was at him previously, she couldn't help but have concern for him, as well as a sense of dread for when she finally saw what kind of shape he was in. The nurse on the phone had vague details at best about what had happened, even the severity and nature of his injuries, and it wasn't long before Elizabeth began to think the worst. Anxiety harbored in her mind at the best and worst of times, and it seemed now was no different as she speculated about Banastre's condition.

Would he be coherent when she finally reached him? Or would he be delirous, and scared, calling out for someone to help him? That image was so different from the confidence and courage she was used to seeing in him, and equally distressing as well. Will be in a lot of pain, hooked up to a bunch of noisy, cumbersome machines? Will he be able to move or--

"May I help you?"

Elizabeth blinked down at the nurse sitting at the desk. She was so lost in her thoughts she lost track of where she was! Fortunately, the sign read that she had indeed reached the correct unit. She swallowed her anxiety as best she could before beginning in a voice that was as pleasant and smooth as she could make it.

"Uh, Hi! How are you? Uh--" She started, but faltered when the sharp eyes of the impatient woman flashed at her in annoyance. Just get to the point. The girl's eyes reached the floor, her amiable mask slipped. "M--my name is Elizabeth Bradford. And... I g-got a call that-- a... Banastre Tarleton is here..."

"Alright, Tarleton, Banastre..." The nurse raised two worn hands to her keyboard to type. "Any relation?"

"Yes, I'm his sister." Elizabeth quickly lied. Well, It's not like she was going to say he was her husband! The older woman seemed to buy it at least. She did insist that Elizabeth sanitized her hands and put on a clean disposable gown before she entered however, and she was more than eager to comply.

The blonde nervously shuffled past staff members in blue scrubs, carrying papers, rushing to and fro, until she silently crept through the flimsy light blue curtain that served as a barrier of privacy from the rest of the world. Then she froze in her tracks, stunned into silence and paralysis.

"Oh my god..."

Banastre looked horrible. He lay back in bed with his chest heaving up and down in a deep sleep, his long auburn hair spilled over the pillow. His normally thin face had swollen under a breathing mask, and the skin now nearly matched the crisp white sheets he was sheltered in. Except of course, for a few painful-looking bruises that marred his face in patches of black and purple. She was almost thankful for the blankets and the hospital gown covering him up, as she figured the injuries below his head were even worse. But she could see that his left arm was in a cast, and his right arm was covered in bandages. The only part of that limb that seemed okay was his hand. Other than two fingers short of course, but the healed remains had ironically come out of this particular ordeal unscathed.

"It was a hit-and-run, according to the patient."

Elizabeth, in her shock, did not realize that she was no longer alone with Ban. She flinched and then quickly turned her head towards the voice. Just at the foot of the bed was a man in blue scrubs, a stethoscope was around his neck and he held a clipboard firmly with his thin hands: clearly he was the one who broke the silence. Judging by the awkward stature that came with youth and inexperience, must have come fresh out of medical school. Everything about him expressed that, the gangly undergrown body, the glasses that englarged his eyes to twice their normal size, and the very uncomfortable way he carried himself. He made a point of keeping his distance from every possibly germ-infested surface there, keeping to the very middle of the room. He also avoided even looking at Banastre, as if such a simple action would cause the dragoon to die from his injuries. Or leap up out of bed and tackle him like a football player. Either way, his lack of assertion did not at all sit well with Elizabeth, who had assumed that this man was the one who will be looking after Banastre.

No words came to the woman, but she quickly glanced down uncomfortably at the way he scutinized her with his wide eyes, as if she were his patient. Ignoring this, the doctor stepped closer to her until he was towering over her almost. Then he lectured in a proud, almost obnoxious manner, like a know-it-all kid who took it upon himself to answer a question that nobody asked. And as he continued, Elizabeth's face only grew with confusion and alarm until it appeared to burst out of her skull.

"In addition to the usual impact wounds and whiplash one could expect from a pedestrian car accident, he has three broken ribs. There is bruising not only on the epidermis, but on several vital organs including his lungs. In addition, his left radial bone is shattered and-- how long has his right thumb and index finger been missing?"

Elizabeth was struck dumb, so she stood there speechless for a moment until he shrugged and continued in his know-it -all voice.

"Well, they look healed so that's not too important anyway. There are several areas along the outer layers of epidermal tissue as well that have--"

"Wisensky! Who told you to enter this patient's room?"

A sharp, booming voice scolded from nearby. Another person burst through the curtain, this time a woman in scrubs and a lab coat.

"I-I w-was just-"

"Dr. Nobody, that would be who! I told you to get a blood sample from Ms. Goldman ten minutes ago, now do you happen to have it?"

"Well, no..."

"Then I suggest you get outta here and get that done, you are wasting time. Now!" The older woman demanded. The boy wildly jumped away from the doctor and disappeared to the other side of the curtain. Then she had turned to Elizabeth, who looked like she was about to be sick.

"I apologize. He's smarter than most residents I've had to oversee, but he seems to have trouble interacting with patients and family members. Especially when they weren't even his to begin with."

The scientist's eyes widened.

"He's just a resident? And Ban isn't his patient?"

"Yes ma'am. And no, he's my patient."

"Oh good." Elizabeth immediately relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief. She had watched Grey's Anatomy enough times to have an idea of the stupidity that brand new doctors were capable of. She could only hope that it was different in real life.

"Mmm-hmmm... please, sit down on that chair there, you look like you need it right now."

"Oh, uh okay..." Elizabeth obediently collapsed on the cushioned char that was immediatly at Banastre's side. Thank you, by the way. And I'm sorry, I'm just not used to..." She trailed off, slinking down further in the chair. "I really do hate hospitals, but when I heard Ban was here I couldn't..."

The doctor stared down at both of them, all harshness from earlier had disappeared and been replaced with sympathy.

"I'm sure he'll be glad that you're here. I was uh... lucky enough to be the one treating him when he first came in. He was consious, alert, and very talkative. Mostly he was asking for a Beth Bradford. I assume that's you, right?" She asked, a knowing look crossed over her.

Elizabeth nodded, stunned. She didn't even bother to consider that he was the reason the hospital knew to call her! The realization tugged at her insides but somehow made her feel a bit better. Delicately, she took his mangled hand in her own. Immediately she felt his calloused fingers curl firmly around the soft skin, a small yet meaningful gesture of comfort for both.

"He even screamed out your phone number for the whole floor to hear while I treated the road rash on his arm and shoulders. I feel you have the right to know in case you get calls from strange people."

Elizabeth's mouth became a thin line. She elt the admittance of his ordeal should have made her feel bad, but a puff of suppressed laughter burst through her lips before she could stop it. The poor guy!

"He's going to be out for a while, he's sedated because of ah... rather belligerent noncompliance. Yeah, that's a good way of phrasing it! Obviously we cannot--" The doctor gestured to both of his injured arms, her stern mouth curled into a thin line. "--strap him to the bed. We'll keep him under observation in case his internal bleeding becomes too excessive. You can stay here for a bit, visiting hours end at 8:00. I have to go back to work now."

"Okay. Thank you." Elizabeth flashed her a smile before she left, a real smile. Then she turned back to look at Banastre. In his sedated state he looked so pitiful, but strangely peaceful as well. Quite a contrast to the bold, animated Ban that had surprisingly grown on her. She grasped his right hand more firmly before and stayed by his side, just letting her mind wander in silence.


	32. The Visit

Hours later, Elizabeth silently sat still in the pale, harsh lighting next to her charge. She was so deeply buried in her thoughts that she was oblivious to everything happening around her. Although her eyes and ears were open, aware of everything around her, her mind remained disengaged from her environment. She did not register the coming and going presence of the staff, the constant bustling outside of his room that was occasionally broken by chaos. She was oblivious also, to the eventual stirring of the officer next to her.

As Banastre awoke, he struggled a great deal to come out of the haze he was trapped in. His eyes were heavy, and although he was in pain the last he remembered, a blessed numbness overcame his body.

Despite this he was confused, he was _scared_ even. He just barely remembered the terrible ordeals he went through before he woke up. The machines and the chaos... the manhandling! Currently he heard those machines beeping next to him, and he felt something pressed against his face that he disliked a great deal. All of the above caused him to move restlessly under the blankets.

Unfortunately, that movement made many of his injuries cry out in protest, so Ban flinched with a yelp that was muffled by the object covering his mouth. Then he yelped again, as the involuntary reaction of his pain caused yet another flash of misery to course through his chest. It had fortunately subsided however, until he was left with the numb feeling in his limbs. As well as a hand firmly holding his own, and a low whispery voice that was all too familiar to him.

"Banastre? You're okay man... you-you're gonna be okay. Just stay calm. Please..."

"Beth?"

Banastre's dark eyes opened, then snapped shut again at the harsh light he was met with. The pressure around his hand tightened, a thumb stroked the back of his palm.

"Yeah... yeah I'm here."

"Beth..." Banastre groaned, his breathing quickened. "I didn't think you were going to come after all, I thought..." He sniffed, cutting off his voice that was thick and slowed down from the drugs. He slowly opened his eyes again, to reveal her staring back at him in concern.

"I couldn't leave you here alone, could I? You're my friend, Ban."

"I don't believe that. Not for a second. I've been absolutely horrid to you, And to Will. And to that rude man in the metal carriage, likely why he attacked me with it."

Elizabeth's eyes widened. Banastre in his haze did not notice or react, only continuing with his slurred voice becoming more and more emotional.

"Oh, darling it was terrible! One second we had a row over a simple thing as where I switched the lane I was riding in, and the next thing I know... he sped off leaving me bleeding and in this excruciating state on the road."

The young woman hunched over above him, her mouth gaped open silently. She watched him as he continued his testament, his rasping voice fell to softer tones.

"I lay there for an eternity, until I was hoisted up by strangers and taken to-- whatever this place is! I was absolutely helpless... and all alone. I could feel nither the company of God nor even the devil himself. I didn't like it. Ah, that's not entirely true, I am relived now that Satan did not reveal himself, as no companionship is preferable to his!"

Elizabeth had nothing to say to this, believing that his small tangent was just an effect from the sedatives.

"The worst part about it, I think, was that I had such a short list of people here that would notice if I was killed, let alone give a damn! I would not have bothered you if it were otherwise. Although you may still be cross at me, I knew I had a better chance trusting you. I know I have only myself to blame for this whole thing, but..." Banastre's voice, already low and trembling, faded into silence before he could finish his thought.

Elizabeth could do nothing but shyly glance at him in silence. She did not know what to expect from him when he woke up. She was prepared for feverish questions, shouting, even attempts to get out of bed. But now she witnessed him pitifully laying there, the chesnut eyes beneath his pale and swollen face shone with tears that threatened to spill. Yet, his trembling bottom lip and the forcibly even breathing managed to keep them at bay, for now. Of all the boys she and Amy were looking after, she thought that she did not have to worry about Banastre having a tough time in this age, and therefore did not concern herself too much. Now, with the Tarleton's emotional hardships threatening to spill beneath the surface, was when Elizabeth realized how horribly wrong she was.

"God, I'm acting ridiculously maudlin..." The Colonel mused distastefully, sniffing and still choking back sobs formed in his throat. "What's wrong with me, Beth? What's come over me?"

At this, the woman snorted despite her better judgement.

"You mean... despite possible homesickness, estrangement from all the people closest to you, and a rather traumatizing near-death experience?"

Banastre said nothing, but softly glared at her with eyes that, despite their hardness and their contained emotion, held exhaustion that was not lost on her. Elizabeth shamefully glanced down at their joined hands, regretting her retort as soon as it came out of her mouth.

"I'm sorry..." She whispered, Banastre rolled his eyes and trained them to the white ceiling above him.

"You know what, it was probably the drugs!" Elizabeth spoke slowly, nodding enthusiastically. "They--they gave you some... heeaavy stuff t-to put you to sleep for a while. More effective than, uh... laudanum. But it does some similar --temporary-- stuff to the mind. I-I don't rem-member much after my wisedom teeth were removed, but--"

"You really think so?"

"Yeah. Obviously there are a couple issues we need to talk about when you're a bit more... yourself. But there's nothing wrong with you. Even if you weren't stoned I wouldn't blame you for--"

"St--stoned?" Banastre interrupted groggily, staring all around him in a paranoia. "They stoned me? Am I dead??"

Elizabeth's lips pursed at his obvious disconnect from the forcing her voice to remain calm and low.

"No man, no... that's not what I meant. You're still very much alive."

The dragoon's dark eyes desperately searched up at hers for reassurance. She grinned at him again.

"No, this is a hospital. The people here are going to help you get better."

"When may I go home?"

"You'll be getting out of here when your injuries healed enough so you can do things on your own and don't need monitoring. After that I'll take you back to my place--"

"No..." Banastre choked out, tears threatening to spill his eyes again. "When may I go home?"

Elizabeth realized what he meant know. Uncertainty crept at her insides, as well as guilt from failing to see earlier.

"I-- I don't know. Soon." She quickly added after his face fell even further.

 _'As soon as I'm sure you won't mess up the past or your own injuries even further.'_

The scientist felt bad for having reservations sending him back, it seemed cruel to just keep him here as he was so clearly unhappy. Although her lack of a straight answer clearly communicated something unsaid between them, it appeared to be good enough for Banastre at the moment. He reluctantly nodded, training his swollen, red eyes to the ceiling once again. Elizabeth swallowed, speaking again.

"But for now... focus your energy on getting better. These people here, the ones wearing all blue, they work here. They're here to help you, but you have to let them. Not fight."

"Alright." Banastre relented, although he tensed up at the mention of the staff members. Then he glanced back up at her grim, anxiety-filled expression. Anxiety for his well-being. He smiled, tightened the grip on her hand, and even batted his dark lashes a few times.

"I promise, I'll try my best to be a good boy."

"Good."

Within the next few minutes Elizabeth sat with him, she couldn't help but notice how droopy his eyelids gradually became, as well as the slow tempo of his breathing behind the mask and the diminishing pressure of his grip on their hands. Within just fifteen minutes, his hand grew slack altogether, and she knew he was out like a rock. A snoring rock. Then at 8:00, she left only after the same older doctor that talked to her earlier came to gently kick her out. They walked together out of the hospital, as it was apparently the end of her shift as well.

"Did he wake up at all?"

"Yeah. But he was calm, well calm enough. He won't be too much trouble for you guys either."

"Oh, good." The doctor breathed a sigh of relief. "Because I wasn't fixing to play that with a patient."

"I thought it was rather easy to just go up and see him." Elizabeth mused contemplativly. "Usually visitors have to jump over hoops, fill out paperwork, et cetera."

"Well, this was a special circumstance and that's all I have to say about that." The Doctor winked at her, Elizabeth's suspicions were confirmed. Although she had a feeling the older woman had her brought in not out of the good of the good in her heart, but out of the desire to somehow tame Banastre's unruly nature. Either way, the scientist was grateful.


	33. Of fear and Retribution

**Friday November 23, 2016** **7:43 pm**

Although Wilkins has become fairly acclimated to his new home, there is one thing he despises. It was not the rows of buildings within the city that made even his six feet and six inches small by comparison, the presense of garbage along the sidewalks upon which he traveled, or the drunkards that frequently solicited outside on Friday nights such as this. No, these things were either all too familiar to him from his old life in Charlestown, or simply easy to ignore over time. The characteristic of this place that was absolutely intolerable, was the weather in Oklahoma.

James gritted his teeth as he walked, clinging his jacket tighter to him as a particularly strong gust of wind chilled him to the bone. The wind was constant here. Every day when he went outside, the brutal gusts came to greet him from every direction it seemed. He was certain it will be a blessing during the summer months, but on this day the ever changing temperatures shifted to such a cold extreme that the wind only served to made it that more frigid. As a man who had grown used to a climate where 40 degrees was considered cold, the prospect of spending winters here made James shudder! At least he was almost home. Several fleeting thoughts involving how he and Mia could keep warm passed his mind, making his lips curl in a self-amused grin. Suddenly, his grin dropped. Then it curled into a disturbed frown, his long legs stopped in their tracks.

The smell of smoke is unmistakable. For three years the haze assaulted his nose more often than not, a testament to the grief and destruction he played a part in.

He looked up. Orange light, faint at first, steadily built in a window a few floors up in the building he stopped in front of. He looked around. Why was he the only one noticing this?! No crowds, no screams of 'fire,' no buckets. No. He was all alone on that street, at a loss of what to do but stare. A memory stirred, one that constantly reared its ugly head.

 _"The town? Colonel Tavington scoffed. "Burn the church."_

 _James could do nothing but stare, shocked and dumbfounded at the very notion of what he was ordered to do._

 _"There's no honor in this."_

Wide, cobalt eyes shone vulnerably at the flames, the light seemed to expose every dark crevice of his soul. He could clearly hear the pops and crackles now, taunting him, goading him. But he also heard something else, that immediately made him spring into action. A faint call for help.

He raced impulsively up the metal staircase outside of the building. His long legs carried him up until he was in front of the window on the fifth floor. The eye of disaster itself. The roar of the flames filled his ears as he leapt in. Fire consumed the cramped home all around, filling his senses with overwhelming light and heat that threatened to swallow him.

 _"Didn't you say... all those who stand against England, deserved to die a traitor's death? "_

Yes. Yes, he did say that. The fervent soldier from the past, brave and reckless and strong. But not strong enough to resist that which he knew was wrong, nor bear the guilt that haunted him!

 _"Burn the church, Captain."_

Tearing, burning eyes wildly looked around for someone, anyone. He saw only the fire. He called out desperately in between coughs.

"Help!" A small voice called from the other room. It sounded like a little girl. He raced as fast as he could, fighting blistering heat, blinding light, and suffocating smoke all the way. That room contained the fire at its very worst, and in the very corner, huddled down and terrified, was the child. Her wide eyes met his, the fear in them tugged at his very soul.

 _"Give me the torch."_

 _The captain_ _gripped the wood tightly. He never thought that Tavington's cruelty could reach such heights. It wasn't his place to senselessly kill innocents. He could feel eyes on him as he hesitated. Eyes of Tavington and his comrades who all expected him to take part in this cruelty. He heard people, the men, women and children he lived among, fighting to open the locked door and shutters. Without thinking Wilkins drew back his arm and watched the torch fly to the rafters and saw the flame immediately spring to life._

He was filled with horror, but soldier in him returned full force-- brave and strong and reckless and stupid. He impulsively charged through the doorway and across the room. It's strange, but the flames themselves seemed to move aside, the smoke cleared wherever he moved, just enough to leave him largely unscathed. It was like... fate itself told him the path to take. To face his guilt, rather than run from it as he has tried and failed.

James reached for the child, picked her up and securely held her against him. Then he hissed, as the flames dared to take their fury out on him once more while he raced back out. He left the same way he came in, both man and child coughed from the smoke even after Wilkins clambered through the window.

"Is there anyone else in there?" He breathed to the disturbed child, her tiny arms clung around his huge shoulders and her hands curled into fists on his jacket.

"No..." She answered between sobs. She was absolutely inconsolable now, shaking and crying into his chest. He glanced down at her as he descended down the metal stairs. The dark skin on her round face was covered in soot, as was her braided hair. She can't have been much more than six years old, and to be regarded delicately, Wilkins knew. Benjamin Martin's youngest was another one of those senstive children, a little girl who would not talk no matter how he or anyone else coaxed or cajouled! She was one amoung five the dragoons were to kidnap that night at The Selton Plantation. What would have happened to them had it been successful? James shuddered despite his efforts not to. This thought sobered him greatly, he fell into a stony silence as his legs carried him down the last few steps.

At this point, a small crowd of onlookers gathered to watch in fear and in awe. He dared to gaze up with them to marvel at the the awesome power and destruction it brought. It held power in his mind too, but not as badly as before. The murmurs and gasps of those around him barely registered in Wilkins' mind, nor did the sobbing of the girl in his arms. However, a wailing that permeated the haze around them and a pattern of obnoxious flashing lights was enough to bring James out of his haze.

His head whipped toward the source of both to find a huge, bright red truck bound down the road. It stopped nearby, and men almost his size in heavy black and yellow suits poured out. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the truck read 'Stillwater Fire Department.' And behind it, was a square amulance that he learned was for people who needed medical care.

"Excuse me!" He shouted, marching closer. The paramedic standing by near the vehicle turned her head to him. Panting, he stopped.

"This girl was in the apartment when the fire started. I got her out, but I'm not sure if she's alright."

The worker only gazed up at him for a moment, astonished.

"You rescued her? Without any kind of protection?"

"Yes!" He exclaimed, beginning to grow exasperated. "Look, I have had quite a trying evening you see, and I would appreciate you taking her so that I can go ho--" He was cut off by a string of coughs, his already aggravated throat protested at the raising of his voice.

"Yeah, sorry. I'll take both of you into the back. You can't go home yet though, since you were in the fire you need to recover from inhaling the smoke."

"Recover? No, I-- I feel fine!" He protested desperately, although the rasp in his voice and the coughing in between words greatly undermined him. He gazed back at the woman, who by now had crossed her arms and regarded him with a glint in her eye. He knew that he was defeated.

"Fine. Whatever." He imitated the very phrasing he heard Mia use on many occasions as he shuffled with the child to the back of the ambulance. He deposited her on the floor of it with her legs dangling to the ground, before joining her. She was a little calmer now, meaning only that she wasn't crying _as_ loudly. The paramedic checked them over and after a while, he ended up sitting there, sulking with bandages around his ankles and an oxygen mask strapped to his face.

James turned back to the girl, who had quit weeping but sat quite solemnly. Far too sullen for a six-year-old. He only stared for a moment, at a loss of what to do. They did not know each other, but he didn't quite feel right ignoring her while she felt like this. Awkwardly, his hand patted her comparatively tiny shoulders. Despite the prior warning not too, he removed the mask from his mouth to talk to her.

"Hey. You're okay now, child. First, what-- what exactly is your name? It seems we will be here for a while, and I can't keep calling you child!"

"Zacara." She answered shyly, refusing to look up from the asphalt.

"Zacara! That's a pretty name. Well Zacara, I know it was a frightening experience. Certainly one that no child should have to go through."

His face fell momentarily at the irony of that last part, but he forced his grin to return.

"At least you didn't get hurt other than a little smoke. This would be a tale to tell your friends, won't it?"

James gently clapped Zacara on the back. She sniffed, her large dark eyes shone with melancholy as she peered up at the man.

"My parents are going to be so mad."

"Ah." James tried to think of a better reply than that as soon as it came out of his mouth.

"Uh... I seriously doubt that they're going to be angry with you. Unless perhaps it was your fault." He leaned a little ways towards her, a little smirk on his face and both brows raised.

"It wasn't your doing, right?"

"I don't think so..." She paused, recollecting the chain of events. "I woke up and the heater was making funny noises. It was scary and I didn't know what to do and then it caught fire--" A fresh wave of tears started back up again. James awkwardly patted her back.

"Your parents aren't going to be angry then. They will be relived that you are safe. This could have been far worse."

A particularly cold and strong gust of wind attacked both of them. James realised as he looked down at Zacara how she suffered in her very thin shirt and trousers! Very reluctantly, he removed his jacket and gave it to her. The previously white fabric was covered in soot, and it was so big on her it served more as a blanket than anything else. Still, as she snuggled more into it he was satisfied that it did the job. He did not need it now anyway. He was too exhilarated from the rush earlier to mind the cold.

He passed the time by watching the fire men--and women, he eventually realized-- working. And he was absolutely mesmerized. Several of them raced in just as he did, only they have remained for far longer and he was still waiting to see if they ever came back out. Others sprayed the apartment with a steady, high-pressure stream of water. These people were absolutely fearless in the face of destruction! They had power that could have rivaled the fire-- the power to confront and stifle so it could kill and destroy no more. Even after, when only charred rubble was left, he watched them help the residents-- seeing to their safety and heath, offering compassion, even visiting and laughing with them in very brief moments! That was yet another power that they had, to bring life back in a previously tense setting.

A weight seemed to lift even further off of his shoulders. Although the fire was dead, another one formed in his heart. Hope. For now... he found that he was not without redemption after all, and he knew what he wanted to do. The only trouble was-- how was he doing to explain all of this to Mia?

 **Well, this chapter was wild from start to finish! Ah... these next few chapters are going to sort of bounce from character to character, so I apologize if the flow seems a bit choppy. Of course I had to start with Wilkins, because I wanted to put this little subplot in forever and I couldn't wait any longer!**


	34. Tense Relationships

Meanwhile...

"What do you mean you want to publish?" Elizabeth gasped, dumbfounded. She and Amelia were both at Beth's apartment, the timepiece and their notes scattered on the coffee table they settled around.

"I want to formally publish the work that we have done on temporal anomalies." Amy answered from her spot on the floor, her voice cool, almost emotionless.

Elizabeth couldn't hide her troubled frown. Not that she had to, as Amelia did not look up from her laptop. She was either ignoring or completely oblivious to her friend's incredulity. Elizabeth had to assume it was the latter. Nevertheless, she had to express her disagreement.

"Amy, I thought we already talked about this. We--can't just publish a paper about time travel to the scientific community!"

"Why not? I already did on my blog."

"What?" That one word bursted from Elizabeth's mouth like an explosion. Her protest went no farther than that though, as Amy cut her off.

"It's fine though! Just a small description of these past few months with the dragoons, and an extremely vague adaption of our research that explains the phemonena. Furthermore, nobody knows who I really am behind the blog and very few people usually read it. Most of the time."

Elizabeth had her face hidden in her hand, but peeked at Amy through her fingers with a glare that could have made Amelia burst into flames like Fawkes the Phoenix.

"How many people read this particular post?"

"I don't know. A couple hundred, I guess."

"Oh god..." Elizabeth cringed.

"It's cool though! Come here, look at these comments." Beth grumpily lowered herself to the floor to get a better look at the screen.

"Fine. I guess it's not all bad. Just a blog... People probably think it's fiction, right?"

"Nope! But I got a lot of stories similar to ours. Like this one." She pointed to a comment that was several paragraphs long.

"A man named Stuart, his last name kept anonymous. More than ten years ago he accidentally brought his great grandfather to modern New York City after discovering a wormhole in time. Then he goes on to explain this paradoxical phenomena in which his former lover journeyed back in 1876 with Leopold and married him."

"Leopold?"

"The great grandfather?" Amelia answered with an air that suggested Beth was a moron.

Elizabeth's first instinct was to be offended, then she remembered that Amy wouldn't have noticed such a subtle insult in the first place. Just as she saw nothing wrong with putting their work on the internet without her consent or knowledge. So she forced a smirk to spread on one side of her face, her arms crossed over her chest.

"So essentially, Stuart made out with his own great grandmother?" Elizabeth quipped sarcastically.

"No! Well yes, technically. Not the point! Here's another example!" Amelia desperately scrolled, her over enthusiasm almost broke the down button on her keyboard.

"Aha! This woman lives in Ohio. She describes a chain of events one morning a couple years ago. She woke up and found a man in her home that looked like a "dirty Martis Gra float with a filthy white rat on his head" in her house. It turned out to be another man, this time a naval officer from 1737. Ah... she just calls him James." She read. Then she continued. "What exactly was she supposed to do with him? What would he do if it turned out she couldn't look after him?"

Elizabeth's frown did not lighten at all. She rolled her eyes and scooted ever closer.

"Uh... she could have done the same thing we did, I suppose! And you make him sound like a sad, unwanted puppy..." She paused, quickly skimming over the text. "Which is not true. She goes on to say that she eventually married this guy!"

"That's not the point!" Amelia admonished. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, imploring her to get to it, then. "There could be dozens, hundreds, even thousands of people that possibly could have been displaced in time. And not all of them could have been as fortunate as James and Leopold."

"How do you know that the claims are genuine though? Because from many other comments..." Elizabeth made her point by slowly scrolling. "Your post does not appear to be well recieved."

"Yes, that's why I want to publish it to the scientific community!" Amelia cried desperately to her still skeptical friend.

"How do you know that they will believe it?" Elizabeth shot.

"How do you know they won't?" Amy shot back. "Besides, we spent thousands of dollars of university funds on time travel. Don't you think we have an obligation to share what we found? After it is approved by the board it will become legitimate academic work and therefore to be taken more seriously than some random thing on the internet."

Elizabeth's sharp eyes narrowed at this last part. She sat on her heels, her hands pressing against the tops of her thighs as she practically leered down at Amelia.

"Is this really about the work being taken seriously to help people? Or are you wanting to do this so that you can be taken seriously to help yourself?"

Amelia's curls whipped around as she turned her head to Elizabeth, aghast.

"Excuse me?"

"Uh...Look, all I'm saying is, you have not had the most--successful-- career so far. You need to make sure that any motivations you have for publishing, outweighs any risks that come with the whole world having access to such sensitive information."

Amy huffed, fire burned in her eye when she faced her coworker now.

"Risks, such as having to present in person to the board of directors, only to possibly face irrelevant criticism from the public if it is not rejected?"

From the look on Elizabeth's face, not only was the proverbial elephant awknowledged, but it was trumpeting and stampeding all over the room! Yes, her main concern was potential time tourists being able to tamper with the past... but it didn't help what she thought of their work being in the public eye. The unwanted attention, the criticism and ridicule, public speaking! Tense silence clung in the air, before Amelia continued.

"I may have failed several times throughout my research, but you are no better! And do you know why?"

The taller scientist leapt to her feet, glaring down at her coworker.

"Because whenever you do find anything worth noting, you don't tell anybody! You just hide the discovery under the rug and let somebody else reap the benefits and the recognition later. You have done that ever since we met! And why?"

Elizabeth glanced down.

"...You already know." She breathed.

"Yes." Came Amelia's grim reply. "But this discovery is big, I cannot let you pass this up for us because of your social anxiety. We--you-- have worked so hard on explaining temporal anomalies these past few months. Do you really want to waste that?"

Elizabeth stood up too, her irritation slowly growing into anger.

"First of all, that work was not wasted because we accimplished what we wanted to. We built a time device, to send the dragoons home. All except one opted out, but still!"

Elizabeth was on the move now, stalking back and forth in front of Amelia. Her voice grew more accusing as she continued.

"What exactly do you hope to gain from this discovery though? Either no one will believe us and we will be labeled as crazy sci-fi fanatics who have no business researching actual science, or we will be responsible for the hundreds of people who will possibly mess up the past!"

"Why are you still on that? Even if we keep the time travel a secret, it will only be a matter of time before someone else discovers it!" Amelia cried, frustrated, as her fist punctuated every word by smacking the palm of her other hand.

"That is true. Yes. I still think it's a bad idea!" Elizabeth shouted, releasing exasperation and irritation onto her colleague.

"If you're going to do all this yelling, then you can just leave!" Amelia shouted back.

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Elizabeth whole body whipped 180 degrees to the door as she stormed out. The wood slammed shut with a bang that shook the whole space. Amelia crossed her arms protectively, attempting to calm herself after the spat. Then she looked at her surroundings.

"... This isn't my apartment."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Hours later, James finally made it home. He trudged past the doorway, and Amelia's robot--who had become oddly affectionate towards him recently-- was the first to greet him with a warm chirp and an wobble of his metal frame.

"Hello, M.A.R.S." Wilkins tiredly said, crouching down and patting him on his rounded head as usual. This habit seems rather ridiculous, such a display of affection is more fitting for a dog rather than a machine. Yet, James could swear that M.A.R.S. seemed to have a soul unlike most other contraption he's witnessed in this age-- or at least an uncanny imitation of one! In any case, the robot enjoyed the attention, so Wilkins kept providing it. Tonight Wilkins' hand upon the smooth, cold steel served another purpose to sooth the adrenaline that still rushed from hours earlier.

He sniffed, then grimaced at the stink of smoke and the unsightly black marks on his clothes and skin. He heard a fast series of beeps and chirps and felt a wet cloth being pushed into his hand.

"Thank you." James spread out the flimsy, white cloth and wiped his face with it. It smelt of lemon, far too strongly for his liking, but it was somewhat effective as it was completely black when he retracted it. He heard the robot beeping and chirping again, then realised that M.A.R.S. was repeating himself.

"I'm sorry, I still don't understand. I swear I will learn eventually, but today is simply not this day."

"He wanted to know why you're covered in soot." Mia's voice answered some ways from his left side, oddly cool and guarded.

"I would appreciate knowing that too, as well as why you are coming home this late."

"Ah..." He turned to face her. She leaned against the doorway between the den and the hall, arms crossed over her chest and fury plastered over her face.

"There was an emergency. A fire started, a child was trapped right in the thick of it. I rescued her though, simply jumped in picked her up, and jumped out!"

He explained light heartedly, a proud grin spread on his face. He expected this would sooth her irritation. Instead, Amelia's lips folded into a thin line and she did not relax. James' smile dropped, his pride replaced with confusion.

Amelia's mind blanked in panic, although her face successfully hid the sentiment. Knowing that James was in such a dangerous situation only a few hour ago did not sit well with her at all. She did not know whether she ought to feel proud of him, relieved that he was okay, or angry that he put himself in such a mess. The anger was the strongest, as well as the fear of losing him, so in a snap she responded with that.

"Right. Well, I'm glad you're alive and that was a good thing you did." She started. Her tone did not match her words at all. It was unstable, wavering. She continued, trying to keep her voice calm.

"But really stupid too, if you're just jumping into buildings on fire. Next time, just leave that to the firefighters."

To say that James was incredulous would be an understatement. His tired cobalt eyes widened, his mouth briefly hung open only to promptly close. Why wasn't she proud of him? Shouldn't she be asking for his health, fawning over his heroism, hell-- at least showing a little concern or affection before admonishing his admittedly rash actions? His previously puffed out chest delfated, his arms crossed protectively over himself. His scorched leg hurts now even more than before. As upset as he was, his exhaustion prevented him from arguing. And certainly from telling Amelia what he now planned to do with the rest of his life! Not now, while he has so little energy remaining to fight. He gathered her in an encompassing hug, both to reassure her and as a sort of unspoken apology for worrying her.

"Yes... perhaps you are right Mia. I put myself in danger-- without proper training to handle it. It will not happen again."

 _'Without the proper training to handle it.'_ Amelia melted into his touch, eventually. James kissed her cheek, content to just hold her to him. After all, though he did not enjoy her confrontation over it, he very easily could have died tonight! After a while, she broke the silence.

"Today really seemed to be a pain for both of us, hasn't it? I already had one fight with Elizabeth and--"

"You two argue all the time. Was it about work again?" James cut her off.

"Yes, but I think it was worse this time. She just doesn't see what I'm trying for her, for both of us."

"Hmm." James pulled away to look at her, tucking one unruly curl away from her face and placing it behind one dark ear.

"But I am sure that she will warm up to my idea eventually, she just needs time to realize the merits of it! Anyway, it's too late at night to really worry about anything. You are home safe, and--"

Amelia gently pulled away from her boyfriend, looking down at the black stains on her clothes and skin that James has unwittingly transferred.

"And we're both dirty now..."

"Sorry." James sheepishly looked down.

"It's alright, nothing that a shower won't wash off."

Amelia slowly made her way to the bathroom, then stopped. Her eyes skimmed James' body up and down without him noticing, as he has focused his attention inwardly some time after she pulled away. His expressive eyes quizically stared ahead at a bit of air in front of him, his full lips endearingly parted a bit in comtemplation. The soot did absolutely nothing to stifle his impressive, muscular frame. Although the filth must be quite uncomfortable, it wouldn't be fair to have him wait on her! And she didn't care for showering now as much as being with the man that she almost lost. Her body froze, an idea forming in her mind. An impuslive, harebrained idea.

She approached him and took one of his hands in her own. Then, wordlessly, she led him into the hallway. She glanced back at him, she could see his handsome face gazing at her in shock-- and after a few minutes, lust. His exaustion temporarily shed, and he followed her into that bathroom rather quickly for a man with a hurt thigh!

 **... This chapter took an entirely different direction than I have originally planned, and I don't really know how I feel about that. *ugly laugh* However, you will find no smut here, just in case you were looking for it in my next chapters. As steamy *pun intended* a piece I think this would make, Potter, I'd need a stomach of my own to make my virgin, recently adult self, write such a thing. And I haven't got one of those, yet! Instead shall leave it to the imagination of my audience. So sorry.**


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